Mortal Embarrassment and Other Flirting Techniques
by mysteryssister
Summary: Magnus is at the top of the social ladder, and Alec is the anti-social new kid. Drama ensues, always helped along by Ragnor, Jace, and Isabelle. Plus there's a little issue with Hodge and his serious psychosis. High school AU, all human. COMPLETE!
1. Sword fights

A/N: So there are a lot of high school fics with Magnus being the new kid, and he always seems to end up beat up. But honestly, it's _Magnus_. There is no way he would let that happen to himself. So I started writing this (during church. Hope I won't go to hell for this). It might be complete trash, but I still hope you like it! R&R.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it almost definitely belongs to Cassandra Clare. Or Adam Lambert (later).

It was his senior year, and Magnus Bane ruled the school. This was in large part due to the fact that he was rich, owned a penthouse downtown, and threw parties there every weekend. They were _the place _to be for anyone with any social life. This was fine with Magnus; it kept him on top of the social ladder and kept his thoughts well away from his ex-family and a very unhappy childhood. So he partied it up with the rest of them, got drunk a minimum of twice a week, and managed, through some brilliance and untold amounts of cheating, to pass all of his classes. He wanted desperately to graduate, thank you very much. By October, he was already cruising on top, the coolest of the cool, no matter that he slept with more boys than girls and pulled off more glitter than Kristen Chenowith. He strutted down the hallways of CCHS like he owned the place.

So when some new kid, a _sophomore_,no less, sneered at him like he could actually be _better _than Magnus Bane, the Great, the Glorious, and the Sparkly, things could have gotten very ugly, very fast. It wasn't as if everyone loved Magnus, quite the opposite; he was a notorious bitch and a drama queen. He just threw awesome parties and ruled the fashion scene. But Magnus had more cronies than enemies, and more self-confidence than was probably good for him. And _no one _was better than Magnus, especially not a new, blond, golden-eyed jock two years younger than him. And even more infuriating, when he gave that sophomore a glare, Blondie _smirked _at him! And _that _was not okay in the slightest. Magnus stomped off in the other direction in high-heeled boots, feeling distinctly ruffled and vowing to make Blondie pay.

Magnus, however, was all about appearances, so he forced himself to regain his cool. He paused outside his calculus class for a deep breath and to make sure his hair was still perfectly spiked. It was. Feeling reassured, he flung open the door and strode into the room. Camille, the scariest in a long line of exes, glared at him. Magnus ignored her, opting instead to wink at a pretty brunette and throw himself casually into his seat. There, he lounged majestically, at least, until Ragnor Fell walked in and promptly sat on him.

"Ragnor!" Magnus gasped. "Jesus, Fell! Get off of me!"

"But it's so comfortable here," Ragnor said innocently, flicking his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes. "Relax, Mag. Go with the flow, ya know?"

"Bastard!" Magnus coughed.

"No need to rub it in," Ragnor said cheerily. Magnus stabbed him in the back with a pencil.

"Ow!" Ragnor cried, jumping up so Magnus could breathe again. He whipped out a pen of his own. "Dastardly villain! A duel, if you dare!" He made swishing movements in the air with his pen.

"Engard!" Magnus yelled, leaping to his feet. They proceeded to have an intense fencing match, complete with mock cries of pain, insults flung as wildly as their arms, the cheering of their classmates, and much jumping on and over desks. Magnus, after shoving Ragnor cruelly into Camille's lap, managed to crash very inelegantly into a boy coming through the door. Magnus, though he had certainly never met this boy before, barely had the attention to spare for a very hot combination of black hair and absurdly blue eyes; he took the time only to bow low and say gallantly, "Excuse me, good sir., I was just defeating this charmingly evil rogue. My regards." He nodded sagely and leapt onto a desk, gleefully continuing his match with Ragnor.

It was just before the bell rang when Magnus managed to trip Ragnor, and proudly, put his foot on the other boy's chest, holding his pencil triumphantly in the air. "I have defeated the mighty Ragnor Fell!" Magnus yelled to the class. Everyone laughed and clapped as Magnus helped his best friend to his feet and they bowed. They even managed to make it back to their seats before the teacher could make it back into the room and start scolding them. They smirked at each other, holding back laughter. Magnus barely even noticed the adorable new boy heading up to the teacher's desk, trying to look as un-idiotic as a new kid, a junior in a class full of seniors, could possibly look. It was a Friday, after all, and Magnus was busy. He had a party to plan.

A/N: Well I hope that was enough to get some people to continue reading. Um, so I have a few Harry Potter fanfics I was working on. Just wanted to say, don't hold your breath. They may never get updated. Hope you like this one, though. I'll try to update soon. Review! LOVE

K


	2. So being the new kid basically sucks

A/N: Well I guess my best hope for this story is that it won't be just like everyone else's. I doubt I'll actually achieve this, but you never know. Like I said, I started this during the sermon, so it may or may not actually work out. I have no clue where it's going, and updating will be sporadic at best. Also, the story name is subject to change. I don't like it. So let me know if you have any ideas! I'm working on it. R&R!

Alec had expected a bad first day, and he wasn't disappointed. He was no good at making new friends or talking to people he didn't know. It was an issue. At least he didn't stand out enough to be teased, even if he also didn't stand out enough to be spoken to. He wasn't sure if flying under the radar was good or bad at the moment.

To make matters worse, he didn't know a soul in his classes. Isabelle wasn't in any of his classes, and Jace was only in one—gym, of course. And Alec sort of wished he _didn't _have gym with Jace because A) he couldn't stop staring at his best friend/brother, and B) Jace was _definitely _an attention grabber, and Alec was definitely _not_. Girls swarmed to him like moths to flame—not that Alec wanted any share in that—but it was sort of a pain when the girl's boyfriends got jealous. Jace ended up with at least five new girlfriends and probably fifteen very pissed off boys. And when Jace talked to Alec, a good part of the negative attention refocused itself on him. Not like it hadn't happened before, at their old school, but it still wasn't particularly pleasant for Alec.

Alec, Jace, and Isabelle had transferred that year to Cassandra Clare High School from the Morgenstern Institute. It had been their parents' decision, although none of them really argued, after their homeroom teacher, Hodge, was convicted of murder. It hadn't really been a pleasant experience. Alec shook his head and wrenched himself back to the present.

_Could Jace not make a quiet entrance for once?_ Alec thought dismally as the boy strode grandly out of the locker room after class, picking up two girls and a trailing wanna-be jock on the way.

"Don't look so dismal, Alec," Jace told the boy. "Would you rather be here or at the Morgenstern Institute?"

"At least I knew people there," Alec said, frowning.

"Nobody liked you," Jace pointed out.

Alec glared at him. "No, nobody liked _you_. They only acted like asses when you were around." Which, he had to admit, was almost always. Back at the Institute, he and Jace had had every class together, and Alec tagged along after him when they could have parted. Jace was really the one constant in Alec's life, even if he was a constant source of stress and infuriation. Jace shrugged, allowing this.

The bell rang. "See ya," Alec said, feeling slightly grouchy at how Jace was already so popular. _Only two classes to go,_ he comforted himself, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and trudging out of the room. Maybe there would be someone to talk to. Okay, probably not, but a boy can dream.

Somehow, Alec actually managed to find the right classroom without too much trouble. It was in the main building, in the basement. The problem, Alec had discovered, with CCHS was that all the hallways in the main building looked the same. The ground floor and basement were laid out in a square, but the top floor was an H, and impossible to find the way around. Plus, there was a newer wing on the top floor that was so secluded, it was half impossible to find. The Tech building, on the other side of campus, was smaller and only one story, housing the art, history, auto shop, and engineering classes. It was slightly easier to navigate, but there were classrooms that could only be reached by going through other classrooms, and one weird staircase out of the art room that led to a computer lab. All in all, Alec had been completely lost most of the morning, and had only gotten his bearings at lunch, when Isabelle, who already had the school completely figured out, explained to him the way the classrooms were numbered.

With that, the calculus classroom was found, at last. Except, when he opened the door, he didn't even have time to take in his surroundings before being smashed into by what looked like a very tall, very spiky, very hot, very glitter-covered someone. "Sorr—"he started, but the boy cut him off with a hasty bow.

"Excuse me, good sir. I was just defeating this charmingly evil rogue. My regards." The boy gave him a nod and promptly jumped onto a desk, proceeding to have a furious pencil fight with another boy with shaggy brown hair. Alec stared at them. Was this normal? The other kids in the class didn't look freaked out; on the contrary, they seemed like they were alternately cheering for each team, egging the boys on.

A girl in a gamer shirt near the door smiled at Alec. "They do this at least once a week," she explained at his confounded expression. "New here?"

"Yeah," he managed. "They do?"

"Yeah. They're fueling the betting pool. Ah, look." She grinned. "Magnus won." She stuck out a hand to a boy on her other side. "Ten bucks, Meliorn." The kid grimaced and handed her a crumpled bill. He looked suspiciously like Legolas from _Lord of the Rings_. "Thank you." She turned back to Alec. "I'm Maia."

"Alec," he replied.

"Listen, you might want to go up to Ms. D. She won't even notice you're here otherwise, and there's a seating chart, and you might need to catch up on the work."

"Okay, thanks," Alec said. He meant it. Maia had been the only person to speak to him except for the teachers, and the weird sparkly kid, Magnus, all day. He walked up to the teacher's desk, willing himself not to trip, or die, or anything equally embarrassing. He even managed it. He introduced himself to the teacher, got the homework and a textbook, and a seat in the back. Gratefully, he slunk back to it, hoping no one would notice him. They didn't. Alec had a sort of talent for being invisible, right along with his talent in running and in keeping his siblings and Jace under control. He supposed there were worse things to be. Sighing, he tuned out his thoughts and focused on the lecture.

"Alec, come on!" Isabelle whined. "These parties are supposed to be the best."

"Why do you think I don't want to go?" Alec muttered. He threw himself down on his bed, wishing his sister would just leave him alone.

"Alec! Seriously, this is a new school and there is no _way_ my social life is going to suck at a _public _school. It's unacceptable. And besides, one of the guy's friend's Meliorn, told me to be there and I don't want to show up alone!"

Meliorn, the Legolas guy who had lost the bet to Maia in class. If this party was the type he would hang out at, Alec definitely did not want to go. "So show up with Jace," he told her.

Isabelle grimaced. "I can't. He's going with some girl, Claire? Clara? I don't know. The point is, I_ need _you, Alec. You can even go home early if you want, but I cannot go alone!"

This type of reasoning did not really make sense to Alec. "But you're just going to ditch me once you meet your perfect blond date," he pointed out.

"That's not the point!" she cried. "Please, Alec. Just come. "

"Ugh."

"Thank you, Alec!" she squealed.

"What?" he asked confused. He did not agree to this.

"It's tomorrow night, and you can't wear anything _brown_, and it'll be fantastic, and you are the most wonderful big brother ever!"

And Alec didn't even have the excuse of "Who'll look after Max?" to dissuade her. Why on earth did their parents take the littlest Lightwood along on all of their business trips? It would save Alec a lot of headaches if they just left him at home. "Ugh," Alec moaned again. This was going to suck.

A/N: Yay! Do not get used to updates this fast or chapters this long. It will probably never happen again. I just had nothing to do today. Hope you enjoyed! Next, the party! Yes, I'm too lazy to drag things out. You should be grateful. Again, any suggestions for a story title are welcome, because this one sucks. Please review! LOVE

K


	3. Party Drama

A/N: Three updates in two days? This is insane. You'll get spoiled. Thanks for the reviews! Much love and affection and all that. Enjoy!

Alec gave his sister a very dirty look as they got into her car. She had forced him into black skinny jeans and a too-tight shirt. Alec had argued that yes, he _was _gay, but no one else knew that and they didn't need to. She ignored him.

Jace was already gone; he had left tem minutes ago in his own car to pick up his date. Alec rolled his eyes at that. Only Jace, he thought, could get a girlfriend within two days of a new school. Alec felt the familiar twinge of jealousy and guilt in his stomach when he thought about it.

But then, Isabelle stepped on the gas, and they were off to some party in Brooklyn. And suddenly, Alec really wished he hadn't come.

The feeling did not go away when they reached their destination. Jace and his redheaded girlfriend (what was her name?) were just climbing out of Jace's car. Alec scowled, but Isabelle grabbed his arm and towed him over to the entrance of the apartment building in front of them, and marched inside. Jace and the girl followed her, in front of a much more reluctant Alec.

Their way out of the elevator at the top floor was blocked by someone tall and sparkly. Isabelle obscured his face, but Alec had a pretty good idea as to who it was. Sure enough, a low, lazy drawl accompanied the figure.

"I don't think I invited you," he said coolly to Isabelle, and to Jace, "And I _definitely _didn't invite didn't invite _you_." Jace sneered.

"Meliorn invited me," Isabelle offered.

The boy in the doorway had a scowl in his voice. "Meliorn should know that this isn't his party to invite people to."

Isabelle sighed and shifted her feet, and suddenly, Alec was right in the host's line of sight. It _was _the boy from his calc class—Magnus? And he was staring straight at Alec.

"Oh, all right," Magnus said in a long-suffering tone. "Come in, I suppose." His eyes were still on Alec. He _winked_. Shocked, Alec ducked his head as they filed inside. Isabelle waltzed off into the huge room, the flashing lights dancing on her hair until the crowd swallowed her up. The place looked like a nightclub. There was even a bar. Jace and his girlfriend—he really had to figure out her name—abandoned Alec, too, as the elevator closed behind them. Alec thought he heard a low laugh, but he was busy trying to escape to the quietest corner he could. It didn't really work out. Long fingers closed around his wrist and spun him to face the sparkliest boy in the room, who was grinning wickedly.

"I know you," he said, flashing Alec a smile.

"Calculus," Alec muttered, embarrassed.

"Of course!" Magnus snapped his fingers. "How could I forget those eyes?"

Alec fought a blush, looking down and biting his lip. Was he flirting? "Um…."

"I'm Magnus Bane."

Alec latched onto this, a coherent statement he could respond to. "Alec. Lightwood."

"Fantastic to meet you." Magnus winked again. Alec completely failed hiding his blush. "Dance with me?"

"What?" Alec started. "No. I mean… I don't really think—"

"Shame," Magnus sighed. "Maybe later." He turned away, raising his voice and releasing Alec. "Ragnor!" he called. The kid he'd had the pencil fight with turned from the mob of party-goers. "Dance with me!"

Ragnor slipped through the people, towards them. "I'm straight, darling," he said above the pounding bass of the music. "I don't dance with guys."

"But you love me!" Magnus cried, and grabbed the boy's hands. Alec took the opportunity to melt into the crowd, letting himself breathe again. He managed to find a relatively empty corner where he sank to the floor and stared out at the flashing lights, glitter, and the mass of flowing bodies, drowned out by the music.

"What was that?" Alec muttered to himself. Why was Magnus Bane, who was obviously at the top of the social ladder, hitting on him, a junior with few good qualities and fewer social skills? Alec really hoped it wasn't so obvious that he was gay. And besides, Alec wasn't interested! He didn't want a boyfriend, especially not someone as absurdly flamboyant as Magnus Bane. And besides, Alec reasoned, Magnus was probably just messing around. Of course, that was it.

Just then, Magnus himself and Ragnor sashayed into view. From the way they were dancing, Alec had a very hard time believing the latter was actually straight.

There was a hollowness in Alec's chest that shocked him at the sight. Some guy flirted with him once, and now he was acting like some jealous teenage girl? He pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and resting his chin on his knees. Why had he even come here?

There was Isabelle, making out with Meliorn, the Legolas guy, against the wall. Jace was with the girlfriend, dancing and drinking. Even Maia was there, wrapped around a dark boy with tattoos. Isabelle had been right when she said that these parties were the place to be. Alec even spotted some college kids in the mix.

After a while, the pounding music, hypnotic lights, and wild movement pulled Alec into a daze. It could have been two minutes or two hours later when the shout woke him up. Alec snapped his head up. A space had opened up in the middle of the floor. Of course, at the center, like he was of everything, was Jace, and he was furious and yelling at Magnus.

"It wasn't my bloody fault! If the idiot—"

"Shut the hell up." Magnus, contrary to Jace, looked perfectly calm, almost smug. "And leave."

"Like hell!" Jace snapped. Alec scrambled to his feet.

"In case you hadn't notice," Magnus said coolly, "I do own this place. Meaning, I can do whatever I bloody well want. And right now, I want you gone. So unless you want to be thrown out, you'll leave."

"Jace," Alec said loudly. He had made it over to them. "What's going on? And where's Izzy? Why are you screaming at someone you barely know in the middle of a party?" He did _not _look at Magnus. Not even to sneak a glance. No.

"Isabelle already left. Nothing's going on." Jace glowered.

"Jace—"

"Whatever, I'm leaving. This place sucks. C'mon, Alec." Jace shrugged off Alec's hand on his shoulder and stalked off to the door. Alec started to follow, but a hand catching his stopped him.

"I didn't throw _you _out," Magnus pointed out. People were beginning to dance again. "In fact, I'd be a bit insulted if you left now."

"I can't stay," Alec said hastily. "Jace is my ride home."

"Take a cab," Magnus suggested. Well, it was more authoritative than a suggestion, but not quite an order. "You never danced with me."

"I don't have any money."

"Alec, darling—" Alec wondered how he had gotten to 'darling' in the day and a half he had even known who Magnus was— "I live here, and this is not a shabby establishment. Do you honestly think I can't afford to get you home later?"

"I— I can't," Alec stuttered. He was terrible with boys, and he didn't know what to do, and he had to follow Jace. "I have to go." So saying, he practically ran out of the building after his friend.

A/N: Yes, I know my chapters are short, but it was fast, right? Quality, not quantity. Ok, I didn't really proofread this, so I shouldn't be talking about quality, but whatever. Review! Reviews make me write better! Hope you enjoyed LOVE

K


	4. Being Drunk

A/N: Thank you all who reviewed! Let's see how this goes. Much love! Enjoy! Review! Hope this won't suck!

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare, I wish I were you, but I'm not. Therefore, Alec& Co do not belong to me, they are all yours.

Magnus frowned at the door which had just slammed shut behind Alec. That was just not natural. People didn't turn Magnus down. They just didn't. It was practically unheard of. Even _Ragnor _danced with him. Of course, Ragnor was his best friend and bisexual, so that wasn't really weird. But still! Being turned away by a very hot, albeit very shy, junior was simply astonishing, and not in a good way.

Unfortunately, it was becoming increasingly clear that Magnus was the only one on the dance floor not dancing. He moved off to the bar, still scowling. Something was very wrong with this situation. It was past midnight, and Magnus was not dancing with anyone, had been rejected, and wasn't completely drunk. Well, one of those could change right then and there.

A few—or maybe quite a few, he wasn't really sure at this point—drinks later, Magnus was feeling fuzzy, but not really any more cheerful. He slumped on his seat sadly, wishing there was some hot guy to make out with, or even some hot girl. Or even an _ugly _guy would be fine at this point. But it was not to be. Instead, he got Ragnor Fell on the stool beside him, which was completely unfair because even drunk, Magnus knew that Ragnor was off limits.

"You look positively mopey," Ragnor said cheerily to Magnus. "Not to mention as drunk as you usually aren't until about four in the morning."

Magnus glowered blearily at him. "Thank you for that," he slurred. "I am depressed. I am horribly depressed. I haven't been this depressed since my last cat died."

"That cat was a demon," Ragnor pointed out. "I still have scars. And besides, now you have Chairman Meow, who is, as you like to say, nearly as glorious as yourself."

"He is," Magnus agreed, but the thought didn't cheer him up much. It probably wasn't a good thing when your cat was nearly as awesome as you. "Maybe that's why Alec turned me down," he mused. "Because I'm not even that much better than my cat."

"Oh, _that's _what this is about," Ragnor sighed. "The new kid?"

"He's beautiful," Magnus sighed.

"Well, he is a little, but really he's not that special, Mags," Ragnor said. "He's just a junior. Not even that interesting. You could do better."

"But I don't want to do better!" Magnus protested. "He's wonderful. If I got anyone better, my head would explode." He faced Ragnor full on. "His hair is so shiny, did you see?" His slurring wasn't improving as he spoke. "And his eyes are so blue it's insane. And his mouth? Did you see? Perfect. And you can totally tell that he's all muscle and he's so freaking beautiful…." He trailed off.

Ragnor sighed again. A drunk Magnus was also a very sentimental, detail-oriented Magnus. "You know, Mags, that if you got him, you'd just drop him again in about a week and a half."

"_If _I got him?" Magnus asked. "Rag, I _have _to get him. I have to. I'm going to die pining away."

"You're only saying that because he actually turned you down and you haven't already gotten tired of him," Ragnor pointed out. "And don't call me Rag. It's degrading." Not that Magnus would listen. He never listened when he was drunk. He was pathetic. Ragnor had no idea why he bothered.

"He's wonderful…" Magnus sighed again.

Ragnor rolled his eyes. "I got that bit. So I don't know, have a spontaneous make-out session with him and see what happens." Okay, even Ragnor knew that was a terrible idea, but he doubted Magnus would remember it anyways.

"He'd hate me. That's a stupid idea."

Ragnor rolled his eyes again. "Nice to know that you know a stupid idea from a smart one even when you're drunk, Mags."

Magnus laid his head on the bar. "And you know what sucks, Rag? Do you?"

"Lots of things," Ragnor guessed. "Including that absurd nickname."

"No. What sucks is that Alec totally has a crush on that asshole that he left with tonight. It sucks."

Now Ragnor was actually interested. "Who, the blond kid? Jace? How do you know?"

"Because it was so obvious. Alec would to anything for him, it was so obvious. It's terrible. And Blondie's straight, so it super-sucks for Alec. And I love him forever. I would do anything for him…." He trailed off again, looking close to tears.

"I got that part. I think you've had enough to drink, Magnus." Ragnor gave a hand sign to the bartender telling her not to let Magnus have any more alcohol. "You have a drinking problem."

"No, it's not a problem. I'm drowning my sorrows."

"You're adding to your sorrows, and will be even more sorry when your liver fails." Ragnor stood. "Come on. You should go to bed before you fall over."

"I can't leave my party," Magnus protested.

"You'll just embarrass yourself if you stay here," Ragnor said. "Relax; I'll kick everyone out for you."

Magnus sighed and gave in, stumbling off to his room to collapse into bed.

Magnus woke the next morning with a god-awful hangover that was not altogether surprising, but not fun either. He groaned and pressed a pillow over his face, wondering why he was still wearing miserably tight skinny jeans and hadn't taken off his shoes. The last thing he could remember with any clarity was the door slamming as Alec left after _not _dancing with Magnus. He wished that the last thing he could remember about last night was more pleasant. That sort of memory indicated that the night had gone very badly. He hoped he hadn't said or done anything too terribly stupid. There were no screaming girls (or boys) at his door, so he supposed it couldn't have been that awful.

He smelled pancakes from outside his room. That meant Ragnor had slept on the couch. Magnus winced and revised his earlier thought. It could definitely have been that awful. He considered staying in bed the rest of the day, but his head was still pounding and it didn't seem like he would be getting back to sleep any time soon. So, grimacing, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood slowly, then walked to the kitchen and tried not to fall over.

Sure enough, Ragnor was sitting at the table when Magnus got there, munching thoughtfully on a pancake. "I don't think I made them quite right," he said philosophically. "But they're not terrible. Have some."

"Coffee," Magnus managed through his scratchy throat. Ragnor gestured to the pot on the table and Magnus fell on it, dumping sugar and cream and chocolate syrup into a mug before diluting the sweetness with a generous amount of the bitter drink. Ragnor grimaced at him. After he had eaten and drank enough to feel remotely alive, Magnus braced himself to hear some awful things. "So what exactly did I do last night that was so terrible that it warranted you staying the night?"

"Well you didn't dance naked on top of the bar," Ragnor offered.

"Well that's a relief," Magnus said dryly. "Thanks so much for reminding me." He put his head in his hands. "God, I'm a senior in high school with a drinking problem. This seems a bit early in life for this."

"Hey, that's what I said," Ragnor said cheerfully. "Of course, you adamantly denied any sort of problem last night."

"Back to the subject, Ragnor?"

"It wasn't that bad," Ragnor said. "You didn't embarrass yourself to anyone except me. It was all very doom and gloom."

"Well, that's something," Magnus admitted. "And yet you still thought it bad enough for me to stay on the couch."

Ragnor resigned himself. "Fine. Well, after Alec left, you got spectacularly drunk and spilled your guts to me."

"About?"

"Alec. The beautiful, unattainable love of your life."

"Did I seriously say that?" Magnus asked.

"Well, not unattainable, but you said he was beautiful at least twice, and then proceeded to describe his every feature in great detail to me, after which you lamented how he has a crush on Jace the asshole."

"Who is Jace again?"

"The blond kid."

"Oh, well yes, he is an asshole."

"Yes. You were very whiney."

"Well, that's not the worst thing I've ever done. Unless you're not telling me something." Magnus felt a little less like he was being beaten over the head with a stick and more like himself now. Ragnor always made killer coffee.

"That's about it. Well, you swore your undying love and vowed that he would fall for you in the end."

Magnus frowned. "I never swear undying love. Undying love doesn't exist. Even when I'm drunk, I only ever swear undying hatred, or undying lust."

"Exactly," Ragnor said. "That's why I was worried."

A/N: So that sort of stopped short. But don't you dare complain because this was a super-fast update. You guys are getting so spoiled. Anyhoo, Ragnor is fantastic, if I do say so myself….. I hope you enjoyed! Review, please! I love reviews! They are amazing! LOVE

K


	5. Casual Conversation

A/N: Well I don't really know how well this will go. I just found out that my youth pastor is leaving, so I'm sort of bummed out right now. I'll still try to make this as good as possible. Thank you so much for all the reviews! They absolutely make my day every time. You guys are awesome!

A/N2: I'm still looking for a different title! Being new? Okay, even I can admit that that sucks. I came up with it in the two minutes before I had to leave for dinner, so please, suggestions! Otherwise, I'll end up with, "Mortal embarrassment and other handy flirting techniques" Only I think that's too long. So help me!

Disclaimer: What, you seriously think I'm as good as Cassandra Clare? I'm flattered, really, but no. These are all hers.

Magnus didn't really mean to pout all of Sunday, but Ragnor went home around one, and he somehow couldn't get blue eyes and soft midnight hair out of his mind. God, he was turning into a mushy, wistful teenage girl. It was pathetic. He was Magnus Bane! He took pride in not getting attached, in getting whoever he wanted in about ten seconds, not pining over every cute boy who walked his way—or away. He was being ridiculous.

All the same, Magnus was not ready to drop Alec Lightwood. He had to try at least once more to win the boy over. And, he vowed, if he failed, he would forget all about it. Maybe another attempt was all he needed to shake the image of those eyes. But of course, he wouldn't fail. He was Magnus Bane, after all, and Alec Lightwood was only human.

Alec tried very, very hard not to think about the party after he had left it, but even that couldn't stop him dreading sixth period all of Monday. Really, what do you say to a guy you turned down twice? Alec briefly hoped that maybe Magnus would simply not talk to him, but he knew that was totally unrealistic. Even to a boy who had met him only two days ago, it was obvious that Magnus was more determined than the average Olympic athlete, and had an ego twice the size of a large-ish elephant. If Magnus's pure will didn't keep him coming at Alec, his pride would. So really, Alec didn't have a prayer.

It really didn't help, either, that Alec's brain turned to mush whenever Magnus so much as _looked _at him, and they had only been in each other's presence for a total of about two hours, if that, so far. Alec had absolutely no experience in this sort of thing. Seriously, how did you form a coherent sentence when your brain wouldn't bloody function? It wasn't fair. And Alec just knew that Magnus was making him melt on purpose. The only other person who had ever been able to do that was Jace, and see how well _that _one was turning out. It was so unfair that Alec wanted to punch something by the time lunch came around.

Alec actually knew his way around the buildings by Monday, so he made it to calculus in plenty of time, before remembering that he really didn't want to be in that classroom at all.

Magnus wasn't there—in fact, there were only two other students in the room when Alec arrived. _Maybe Magnus isn't here today_, Alec thought hopefully. No luck on that front. The sparkled preceded him into the room just as Alec sat down at his desk. Alec stared studiously at his math notes, trying to ignore everything around him, but was interrupted when Magnus, just as Alec knew he would, sat backwards in the chair in front of him, looking as majestic as ever.

"Hey, hey," he greeted Alec.

"Hi," Alec mustered, not looking up. He didn't really want his brain to implode, thank you very much. Besides, no one but Isabelle knew he was gay, and if he looked up now, his face would give everything away. Not that Magnus didn't obviously know already, or anything.

"How was your weekend?"

Alec shrugged noncommittally, aware he was being rude. Why was Magnus making conversation? Why didn't he just bring up what they both knew he was dying to know—why had Alec turned him down?

Magnus tried again, voice smooth and untroubled. "Did you enjoy the party?"

Now Alec did look up, wondering why on earth Magnus would ask _that_ when, it seemed to Alec, the answer was so obvious. He regretted it instantly. Magnus was gazing intently at him, just as gorgeous as Alec remembered, with the fluorescent lights glinting off his carefully styled hair and glittery makeup. Alec quickly looked away. "I don't know."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "You don't know? This isn't a quiz, you know."

Alec hitched his shoulders uncomfortably. "Parties aren't really my thing."

"So why did you come?" There was no bitterness in the question, only confusion.

"My sister made me," Alec muttered. He just wanted Magnus to _go away_, and yet he was desperate to keep him right there. It made his head hurt.

Magnus burst out laughing. "Ah, the tyrannical older sister."

"Younger," Alec corrected. Why was he blushing? This was ridiculous! Just because Magnus was laughing was not cause for Alec to want to smile!

"What?" Alec could tell he was still smirking.

"She's younger," Alec repeated, feeling his face heat up even more. Why was he even admitting to this? What kind of guy got pushed around by his little sister?

The laughter increased, and now Alec was red with embarrassment. God he really was an idiot. "Wow, she must be a mass murderer or something," Magnus chortled. Alec ducked his head, biting his lip. "Lighten up," Magnus added cheerfully. "I'm just teasing. I've seen that girl, and if she were related to _me, _I'd be terrified, too." Alec still didn't look up, and Magnus laughed again, tapping Alec's chin with a purple-nailed finger. Startled, Alec half pulled back, looking into Magnus's face. Magnus raised an eyebrow again. "Really, chill out. I won't bite, you know."

A horrible, terrible voice inside Alec's head added, _Unless you want me to_. Alec tried extremely hard not to dig a hole to the center of the earth and hide there, no matter how tempting it might be. That would probably not be a wise idea.

Magnus glanced behind Alec and sighed. "Bell's about to ring," he observed, then smirked. He pulled a sharpie out of his pocket and grabbed Alec's hand. Alec was a little shocked at the action; what was Magnus doing? And he was hyper-aware of Magnus's fingers around his.

Magnus scribbled something onto the palm of Alec's hand and released him, still grinning. He stood, swung his leg over the chair to free himself, and his mouth was suddenly right at Alec's ear. "Someday, Alexander Lightwood, you will dance with me," he whispered. Alec was pretty sure he stopped breathing. But then Magnus was gone, striding back to his own desk, laughing at Ragnor. Alec glanced down at his hand and bit his lip again.

A/N: So I know it was shorter than the last one, but it wasn't bad, right? I like this chapter! Well, kind of. I don't know. I couldn't really get into my stride at the beginning, so it seems a little disjointed. Well I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Please review! You know how I adore reviews. Oh, and story title? I'm serious! Thank you all for reading! LOVE

K


	6. iPods cause everything Evil and Awesome

A/N: Not much to say. Enjoy! I give up on suggestions. I'm going with my proposed story title.

Oh, your reviews rocked, btw! Too Lazyyyy—you made my day. Really you did. (Maddi-la, is this you?) Thank you also to SeptemberEnds911, DisturbingEmily, the-perverted-fangirl, MagnificentMagnusBane, Smart Angel, MerielTLA, Alice4eva, Lea-Renee, Bookworm24601, nijigoneko, and Redrosesushi (I miss you girl!). You guys all rock so much!

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare is like God. She owns everything in this fanfic. Only, I'm sort of like God too, because I make her characters do everything I want them to .So maybe Cassandra Clare is like the communist government and I'm like the communist leader's army.

Alec stared down at his phone and the black digits on his palm. How could dialing seven numbers possibly be so hard? And really, did he want to dial them? What if Magnus was just messing around? He probably gave his number out like free candy. And why did he leave it up to _Alec _to decide if they would talk? Alec was a follower, not a leader. It was how he worked. He didn't like being put in a situation where he would have to make a decision. He rolled onto his back on his bed, too-long hair splayed out over the navy blue comforter. He sucked at this sort of thing. He wanted to talk to Magnus; Magnus was fascinating and gorgeous and completely foreign to Alec, which was both exciting and disconcerting. Plus, Alec added to himself, where was Jace in all this? Well, off with his redhead—Clary! That was her name!—in the literal sense. And normally, he thought about Jace at least a hundred times a day, but Magnus seemed to be clogging up the part of his brain that usually obsessed over his best friend.

But besides this, Alec was scared. Scared of being rejected, by Magnus or by the rest of the school. Scared of putting himself into something he couldn't get out of if it all crashed down around him. Scared that his parents would hate him if they knew he was gay, scared that Jace wouldn't be his friend anymore, scared that he wouldn't be living up to some standard, scared of a million things. That was what made it so hard for him to press the buttons on his phone and take up Magnus's silent challenge. He was terrified.

Magnus abandoned all hope of a phone call from one Alec Lightwood around ten thirty that night, and resigned himself to the fact that, for the first time, he really had failed. Most people wouldn't consider two days long enough to consider a possible dating effort a failure, but, Magnus supposed, he was both spoiled and lazy. Alec wasn't going to call him, would never dance with him or kiss him or probably even smile at him. It was depressing, but Magnus had had a hard life, and this level of depression was relatively low on his radar list. It ranked far below his mother hanging herself, or his father trying to drown Magnus. Put into perspective, being let down by Alec was a bit like getting a bug bite after you had survived a dunking in acid.

But still, something about the situation nagged at Magnus, and he couldn't put his finger on it. He revised his earlier thought; it wasn't like a bug bite. It was more like getting something in your eye. You blink and blink, but it wouldn't go away and in the meantime, it scratches annoyingly as it makes you tear up and interferes with how you see everything else. Either way, it was a pain.

He sighed and stood up. He needed to go outside and get some air.

Alec needed something to distract him. He dug into his backpack for his iPod, hoping some music would get his mind off everything. It wasn't there. Frowning, he searched the pockets of his coat, then his jacket, then the skinny jeans he had worn to the party. It wasn't there, but his headphones were in the jeans pocket. With a feeling like his stomach had dropped out, he remembered something: setting something down beside as he tried to get himself more comfortable on the floor. Oh god, he realized. He had left his iPod at Magnus Bane's apartment, and that meant that there was only one way to get it back.

Alec was glad his parents were out of town, because at least now, he could leave the house at ten thirty without getting into trouble. He cracked Isabelle's door on his way downstairs.

"I need to pick something up," he told her when she looked up from her computer screen. "I'll be back by eleven thirty at the latest." He doubted it would take that long, but if he did go longer than he expected—half an hour max—he didn't want her to worry.

"Fine," Isabelle replied, uninterested now. "See you later, then."  
>"See you."<p>

Alec quickly got into his car and backed it out of the garage, knowing that even on a Monday night, traffic would be ridiculous and wondering why he hadn't just taken a cab. At least then, someone else could have had the headache of navigating through New York City's insane drivers.

About a minute away from Magnus's apartment, Alec was mentally berating himself for his stupidity. He parked the car in a rare spot and debated. Why hadn't he just called Magnus and asked if he had the iPod? It could have been stolen; Magnus might not have it at all. And even if he did, Alec could have asked him to bring it to school tomorrow. So now the question was, did he go in, or go back home? Well, it was a little late now. He stepped out of his car, although he was still considering leaving.

The choice was taken away from him by a familiar, silky voice. "Well, well, well. I expected a phone call, and I get a visit." A shadow peeled itself away from the wall of the building in front of Alec. "Goodness, Alec, it's a nice surprise, but aren't you being a bit forward?"

Alec's mind blanked out. "Um…" If only he'd had time to prepare himself! "Hey, Magnus."

"Were you that eager to see me?" Magnus stopped in front of Alec, maybe just a few inches too close.

"Yeah," Alec said, then, "No! I mean—"

Magnus laughed. "Are you a bit confused, Alec darling?"

"No," Alec said firmly, although he was lying there. He took a deep breath, regaining control of himself. "I came because I think I left my iPod here on Saturday."

Magnus scrutinized him. "You could have just called."

"Would you rather I had?"

Magnus's lips turned up in a smooth smile. "Silly, of course not." He practically purred, making Alec's stomach do weird things. "I get to see you twice in one day."

Alec bit his lip. "Well…. Do—do you have it?"

"I might have picked it up," Magnus admitted, pulling something out of the pocket of his sweatshirt. "This it?"

Alec leaned forward. "Yeah," he said, reaching out.

Magnus pulled back, grinning. "I have to make sure your not conning me," he said. "What's the background image?"

Alec was a little hurt that Magnus thought he was trying to steal someone's iPod, but answered anyways. After all, it might not be his. "A picture of Jace and Izzy."

Magnus held out the iPod, and Alec took it gratefully. "Why is that your background image?" Magnus asked. "I mean, if I had siblings, I would probably think about them as little as possible."

Alec did not answer, _Because it would be even weirder if it was just a picture of Jace_, even if it was the truth. Instead, he said, "I love my family, and that was a picture of a really good day." It had been a good day; all three of them had gone to the dropping of the ball on New Year's. It was a time Alec wanted to remember.

Magnus nodded slowly. "Do you want to come in?" he asked.

Alec's brain froze again, just as he was getting good at speaking lucidly. "I—I can't. I mean, I have to go and it's late and—um, I—"

"Relax," Magnus smirked. "It would be rude to just leave. Come in, just for a few minutes."

And so Alec, because he couldn't think up a good reason to say no that would make any sort of sense to Magnus, and because he could barely talk anyways, followed him inside.

Magnus's place, when it hadn't been converted into a nightclub, was open and colorful. It would have been light and airy if it were daytime, but as it was, the huge windows showcased the brightly glittering lights of the city below. In the middle of the large living room, which had been where the party was, were two sofas, both sky blue set on a bright green rug, a huge flat screen TV, a glass coffee table on which was a bouquet of yellow flowers, and various other rugs and chairs, all in vibrant colors, set randomly around the room.

"You have a lot of space," Alec observed, slightly impressed. It had been hard to tell how big the place really was with all the people in it last time he had been there, but now he could see that it was both huge and expensive.

Magnus shrugged, flopping onto one of the couches and gesturing for Alec to sit down beside him. Alec did so, trying to look effortless and unconcerned, and probably failing miserably. "It was a stupid place to buy," Magnus sighed.

"Why?" Alec asked curiously.

"It's huge," Magnus explained. "With only me here, it's lonely." He changed the subject. "So is Jace actually part of your family? You don't look related."

"We're not," Alec acknowledged. "He's sort of my unofficially adopted brother."

"You don't look at him like you're brothers," Magnus said offhandedly.

Alec practically gave himself whiplash, he turned his head so fast to look at Magnus. His cheeks were burning. "I don't know what you mean." He tried not to snap the words, without much success.

Magnus's next words were blunt. "You have a crush on him."

"I do _not,_" Alec hissed. He jumped to his feet. "I have to go." Why had he even come? This was a stupid, stupid idea.

Magnus scrambled to his feet as Alec nearly ran for the door, catching him right before Alec managed to make it out. His hand closed on Alec's wrist. "Alec," he said softly. "I'm sorry, that's not any of my business."

Alec shook his head, trying to pull away and ignore the burning in his eyes. He would _not _cry in front of Magnus out of shame. It wasn't going to happen.

"Alec," Magnus said again. "Calm down." His voice was soothing. "Come back. It's fine, we can both forget all about it." Alec turned slowly back, looking Magnus in the eyes. "I'm sorry," Magnus repeated. "Come on, it's fine."

Reluctantly, Alec let Magnus lead him back to the couch. "I shouldn't have overreacted," Alec said stiffly.

"It's fine, Alec," Magnus said again. "I shouldn't have said it."

"So why did you?" Oops. Alec hadn't actually meant to say that, but it was too late now.

"I guess I was jealous." Magnus's voice was so completely honest that Alec nearly cracked his neck again turning to look at him.

"You were…. What?"

"I was jealous," Magnus said again. He brushed a strand of hair away from Alec's face. Alec swore his heart stopped as Magnus's fingers left a trail of heat on his skin. He felt the blood rising to color his cheeks as his stomach fluttered. Magnus smirked. "You're cute, you know."

"I…." Alec had no idea what to say. He let out a deep breath as Magnus's hand dropped. "I really have to go."

"Alec—" Magnus started, but Alec stood, cutting him off.

"No, I mean, it's past eleven and I told Izzy I'd be home at eleven thirty and traffic was awful on the way here and she'll freak out if I'm not home on time." He made himself breath. "But thanks for getting my iPod and everything."

Magnus stared at him for a moment, then stood as well. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Alec nodded, not trusting his voice, and was out the door in a flash.

It wasn't until he was home that he allowed himself to think about what had gone on that night. In his room, he stared down at his hand again, the black numbers slightly smeared now. After a few moments, he got out his phone and typed a text message that he sent before he could think about it.

**It was great to see you tonight.**

A/N: This chapter was so freaking long! Man, fast updates, long chapters, what are you guys going to do when I get writers block? I really hope you liked this! I thought it was sort of cute It made me happy. I needed something to cheer me up after school today. Please review!


	7. Best Freaking Night Ever

A/N: Alrighty! Thank you all so much for your reviews! They were awesome Maddi-la—If you would just log in I could just answer your review over the site! But no, you're too lazy. Meh. Thank you anyways darling, it was lovely Oh, and shoutout, LINDSEE, if you're reading this, you had better review. Thanks padfoot darling.

Okay, sorry to all of you who have no idea who I'm talking to. You guys are still fantabulous!

Oh, for this, Alec is in **bold. **Magnus is in _italics. _

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns all, except what Adam Lambert and Elliot Yamin own.

On with the story!

Magnus almost groaned when the door closed behind Alec. The meeting definitely had not gone that well. He had thought when Alec showed up, that maybe…. Well, he didn't really know what he had thought, but this wasn't it. Except it had gone so well, until he and his stupid mouth had to go and mention the Blondie, Jace, who Alec obviously cared about in more ways than one, and was also _very _sensitive about. Magnus would be surprised if Alec ever spoke to him again. Yes, the boy had calmed down, but then Magnus miscalculated _again._ Alec wasn't used to flirting—it was painfully obvious—and while he was very cute when he was embarrassed, the goal hadn't been to scare him off, and that was exactly what Magnus was afraid had happened.

Magnus threw himself down on his bed. Glitter rose up around him like dust, remnants of all the nights he had fallen into bed without removing his makeup. For a moment, he was the center of a shimmering cloud that recoated his hair and eyelids. Then, his phone rang. It was a rather mundane way of being brought back down to earth.

It was a succession of bell-like beeps, his text message alert. "No, Ragnor, I don't really want to talk right now," Magnus muttered to himself as he dragged himself off his bed again to grab his phone out of his bag. He flipped it open, flopping onto the bed again, sitting up this time. Expecting Ragnor's name on his screen, he frowned at the unfamiliar number flashing over the 'New Message' sign. He clicked 'Open', curious. The message popped up, bold letters scrolling across the screen.

**It was great to see you tonight**.

Magnus stared at the screen. That could not possibly be from who he wanted it to be from, because _he _had certainly been eager to leave just a few minutes ago. He bit his lip, feeling something in his stomach that he hadn't felt since his first boyfriend his freshman year. He tried not to think about the fact that that was also the first, and only, bad breakup he had had. He had trained himself to remember that that feeling, or any feeling, was a bad thing, and he didn't want to be hurt like that again, ever. But he couldn't quite convince himself of that when Alec was involved. No wonder Ragnor had been so worried about him.

He sent a quick message back, the norm when you got a text from an unfamiliar number.

_Who's this?_

Then, he tried to pretend it didn't matter, even though there was no one to pretend for. The charade dropped when his phone beeped again, and he jumped, snatching at it.

**Really? How many people did you see tonight?**

Magnus had to smile. Alec was right, after all.

_Alec?_

**Hey.**

Magnus bit his lip again, but this time it couldn't hide the grin. It seemed that Alec was more confidant over text; it probably had to do with the fact that he actually had time to formulate a response without looking like an idiot. Before he texted back, he saved Alec's number in his phone.

_Hey :)_

There was a long pause after that one, long enough that Magnus wasn't sure Alec would text back at all. Finally, his phone rang.

**What's up?**

_Nm. U?_

**Nm?**

_U dont usually speak in txttalk do u?_

**Not really.**

_Nm=not much._

**Oh. Well then same here. **

_Ipod working?_

**Yeah. Listening to it now.**

_What song?_

**Wait for You by Elliot yamin.**

_Haven't heard that one. Good? _

**The best! How have you not heard this?**

_One sec._

Magnus quickly powered up his computer at his desk and searched the song. Alec was right, it was pretty good, but it wasn't the kind he usually listened to.

_Not bad._

**You don't sound convinced.**

_I dont sound like anything. I'm not talking out loud._

**Touché. Still. **

_I like it, it's just not something I listen to much._

**What music do you like?**

Magnus didn't even have to think.

_Adam lambert. _

**Who?**

Magnus nearly hit his head against the wall in despair.

_Who? Do u live in a cave? How do u survive in this world? _

**I have no clue who you're talking about. **

_Adam lambert! he's like me, only, rockstar! _

**That's slightly terrifying. **

_Look him up! Now! _

**Calm down, one sec. **

A few moments passed.

**He does look like you. **

_I no. Listen to Strut. Or, no, Fever! Fever's my fave._

**Ok. **

_U like them?_

**Weird, but kinda good. **

_Kinda? The best! _

**Haha, whatever you say, Magnus.**

_;)_

**You're crazy. I have to go but I'll see you tomorrow.**

_Aw, sad! Leaving me?:(_

**Yeah sorry.**

_Lame. Ok. See u 2morrow. _

Magnus was fully aware that he was grinning like an idiot, even after his phone stopped beeping. He lay back down, smiling blissfully at the ceiling. He totally had Alec Lightwood. Except that wasn't quite right, because when he had people in the palm of his hand before, it never felt this good. No, this time, Alec had him, too, and Magnus couldn't help but like it. He might even let this relationship last longer than a week, if only because for once, he actually cared if the other person was uncomfortable or not. He knew that he would go as slowly as Alec wanted. That actually sort of scared him; he had met the boy only four days ago, for heaven's sake! But along with being a tease and a flirt and the cool kid, Magnus was also the one who went with it—it was why a lot of people liked him. It was also why the student council members hated him, but that was their problem, and there was a lot more between Magnus and student council than just that.

He fell asleep a lot faster than normal, and dreamed he was drowning in blue, and when he breathed it into his lungs, he melted into it, and was completely free.

A/N: Okay, yes, text conversations are completely overused in the land of fanfic. But shut up, I liked it! Also, I know this chapter was short, and Alec was a bit OOC, and I'm not sure I like this chapter than much. I'm sorry. I'm on a time limit. Still, I hope you liked it! I shall try to update again shortly. Please review! Your reviews make my day! LOVE

K


	8. Isabelle the Cruel

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to 1261aLisSa94 for all of her FANTASTIC reviews. You totally made my day (ahem. Sorry. Week.). You are so amazing! Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you guys seriously rock. Maddi-la, in reply to your review, yes, I know he's getting OOC. Have faith. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'll think about your vote (not really sure about it. I'm not really that mean). But thank you anyhoo.

I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I haven't had the best week. My best friend essentially told me to fuck off yesterday, so I wasn't really in the mood to write. But moving on, I hope you enjoy this chapter (and review)!

Disclaimer: Everything that doesn't belong to Adam Lambert belongs to Cassandra Clare.

Isabelle marched into Alec's room at midnight to find him still awake and staring at the ceiling, a stupid grin on his face, and immediately, her mental alarms went off. Alec, smiling like a loon at nothing, at midnight on a school night when he should have been asleep? For that matter, Alec awake at midnight on a school night not doing homework? Something was going on, and Isabelle was going to find out what.

She had actually come in to see if Alec had a history textbook, but she definitely deemed this situation far more important than homework.

"Heeey, big brother," she said sweetly.

Immediately, the smile vanished, replaced by a look of suspicion. Alec sat up. "Hey, Izzy," he said cautiously. "What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she pointed out, sitting herself on the bed next to him.

"I asked first."

Isabelle sighed, and opted for honesty. She was a notoriously blunt person; she was known for it—and kind of hated for it—at the Institute. Besides, she would never find out anything if she didn't ask questions. "I came in here to find out where you went just now."

To her shock, Alec actually blushed. "Nowhere," he said, too fast. "I told you, I just had to pick something up."

Isabelle's interest peaked. "Oh, really?" She smiled slyly. "What were you picking up?"

"My iPod," Alec mumbled. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you are hiding something from your darling little sister," Isabelle said. "Something definitely went on that had nothing to do with an iPod."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Again, the words came out of her brother's mouth in a rush to get them said.

"Liar," she said cheerfully. "C'mon, Alec. What else did you pick up? A kiss? A date? Ooh, a boyfriend?"

Alec went scarlet. "No! Jesus, Izzy, what's with the inquisition?"

Isabelle pouted. "I want to know! And as my big brother, you're required to tell me! Come on, Alec!"

"I so am not," Alec protested.

Giving up on that line, she sighed. "Fine. If I have to guess, I have to guess." Isabelle scrutinized him. "It definitely has to do with a boy."

"It doesn't—"

"Alec, if you won't tell me outright, at least tell me the truth when I ask a question," Isabelle pleaded.

Alec glowered. "No."

Isabelle sighed again. "Fine. I'll have to take drastic measures." So saying, and without any warning, she pounced on Alec's phone.

"Isabelle! No!" Alec cried, attacking her in an effort to regain the device. A struggle ensued, which ended with Isabelle sitting on top of Alec, his hands trapped beneath him, as she scrolled through his text messages.

"Ohmigod, this is so freaking adorable!" Isabelle sighed happily. "Alec! Why didn't you tell me you were dating Magnus Bane? He's only the most popular guy in school!"

"I am not dating him!" Alec protested loudly, trying valiantly to shove her off him.

"Whatever!" she said, ignoring his efforts. "Okay, for one, you went to his house at nearly eleven. Also, smiley faces? Song suggestions? And he was practically begging you not to leave! Come on Alec, get a clue! The guy is seriously into you! So if you're _not _dating, you damn well should be!"

"Isabelle!" Alec cried. "Get—off!" He finally succeeded in shoving her off of his chest and standing quickly so she couldn't overpower him again. "Give me back my phone!"

Isabelle cackled, waving the phone in the air. "Why? Gonna text Magnus?"

"ISABELLE LIGHTWOOD!"

Yep, Alec was definitely in love.

A/N: Okay! Okay okay okay. This is horrendously short and way overdue. I'm so sorry! I just really can't write at the moment, and I thought I should give you something. I'll try to update faster, and longer, next time. This has just been a really terrible couple of days. Next chapter will be better, I promise! Maybe Magnus will be all bad-boy again (Maddi-la), but don't hold out for it. I love you all! Go ahead, yell at me for such a short chapter, I deserve it. But do review! LOVE

K


	9. Stupid Decisions

A/N: I am so sorry you guys! This took way, way, way too long. It's just that finals are coming up and I haven't really had any time at all, plus I had some writers block. But it really isn't any excuse. All I can do is beg for forgiveness. By the way, all of your reviews were freaking fantastic! Thank you all so much! My week is looking up. You guys are all so great!

Cailee helped me with this chapter (and the rest of the story). You are fabulous! She read my entire fanfic out loud to me at a birthday party with awesome voices—Magnus's drunk voice was the best thing I've heard since Adam Lambert—and then spent two hours on the phone with me working the rest out. So, Marauders punk gets full bragging rights on the plot of this. She is the best. Thank her for making me update.

Disclaimer: Recognize it? Not mine! (Including this disclaimer. I can't remember exactly who I took it from, but it originally belonged to someone else. Sorry).

Alec was actually up early on Monday morning, early enough to take a shower before Isabelle claimed the bathroom, which was a miracle in itself. It might have had to do with the fact that he had set his alarm to play Strut by Adam Lambert that morning, and even the singer's voice was like Magnus's. It was slightly disconcerting.

In any case, he was up and showered before Isabelle and Jace were even out of bed, which meant that he could, for once, escape Isabelle's breakfast. Already his day was looking good.

They drove to school in Alec's car. Admittedly, they did get honked at and nearly run into by a crazed taxi driver on the way, but somehow, they weren't late, hurt, or even fighting, at the moment. Jace, of course, ran off to find Clary the moment Alec pulled into the parking lot, which put a bit of a damper on his day, but even that didn't last long. Okay, Alec had to admit to himself that that last was a lie. He hated it when Jace ditched him for some girl, especially when Alec knew exactly what they would be doing in his absence. He would never ever, ever admit he was jealous. Not only would that be social suicide, but it would probably also completely ruin his relationship with Jace. They were dysfunctional enough without _that _hanging over their heads.

Isabelle, for once did not ditch him. She was in a bad mood, though, because the guy who she had spent the majority of Magnus's party with, Meliorn, had been, in Isabelle's words, canoodling with some girl with purple hair and a bad attitude. That was fine with Alec; he didn't really think his sister needed to be dating a pretty boy Legolas look-alike anyways. Or anyone really. Isabelle's boyfriends tended to annoy him. They sneered at him an awful lot.

The two of them headed into the main building, where their lockers were a few hallways apart. They walked in silence, Isabelle fuming, Alec just soaking up some of the last real sunlight of the year. It would be getting cold soon, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

The bell rang soon after the siblings went to their lockers, still exchanging no words. Alec was okay with the silence. A pissed off Isabelle was not really an Isabelle he wanted to talk to.

The day breezed by. As in, it got windy and cold around ten o'clock and Alec nearly froze his butt off in the chilly air with only a thin hoodie to keep him warm. That didn't really seem fair for less than a month into the school year. It wasn't even Halloween yet.

It actually wasn't until third period until he noticed something odd. He had thought his history teacher looked familiar before, but he hadn't caught the man's name on Friday. All Alec had figured out was that the teacher had some creative forms of discipline. But on Monday, he learned why he was so familiar. The teacher's name was Mr. Valentine, and that was the name of Jace's first adopted father.

Jace didn't talk much about his life before the Lightwoods, but Alec knew about it. His parents had died when he was very young, and he had been adopted by Mr. Valentine. Jace clammed up when it was mentioned, but Alec knew that Valentine had been abusive in the extreme. Jace had run away when he was ten, was taken in by the Lightwoods, and the rest was history.

The weird thing happened about halfway through the period. The redhead that Jace was dating came in carrying a piece of paper it seemed she was to deliver. She caught sight of Valentine and, dropping the paper on the floor, walked straight out again, back stiff.

"What was that?" Alec whispered to Maia, who he had discovered was in that class.

Maia, instead of answering out loud and risking getting in trouble, scribbled a note to the boy.

_Valentine is Clary's father. Her mom left with her when Clary was about two, from what I know. Valentine actually adopted some other kid later, but he had another son, too, Jonathan. I don't know anything really about that, but there is some bad blood between Valentine and Clary. She hates him, and he resents her. It's bad._

Alec raised his eyebrows, reading the note. That was really a sucky situation. Valentine had lost _two _kids to abuse. It was actually kind of weird, how Jace and his new girlfriend had been connected by this man since they were little kids, and didn't even know it.

Now Alec just had to stop freaking out about Magnus, because it was really not a big deal. Right.

Magnus was scared. And that was stupid, because that hadn't happened to him since he was ten and his father tried to kill him. After that, Magnus was too tough to be scared. At least, that was what he told himself. But he couldn't stop thinking about Alec, and it gave him a funny feeling in his stomach. He hadn't felt like that since Daniel, and that had been a sledgehammer of a breakup. Magnus would never let himself be hurt like that again. He had given Alec his best shot, right? And nothing had really come out of it. A flirty conversation or two, but really, that was it. He needed to stop this right now.

Magnus knew he was being irrational. He knew that he was still hung over from still more beer the previous night, well, morning really. He knew he shouldn't be making decisions so early in the morning in any case. But he balked at the idea of falling for anyone so hard ever again, and it made him stupid. He looked back later at it and told himself a thousand times how idiotic he was. He knew it was true. He did it anyways.

A/N: hahaha I left you with a cliffhanger! A crappy cliffhanger. I should have put angst in as one of the categories, but I'm too lazy to change it now. What will Magnus do? You'll be at the mercy of my updating! Sorry guys. Please review! And thank you Cailee so so much! I love ya girl!


	10. Stupid Decision was an Understatement

A/N: I didn't really want to be misleading in the last chapter. Valentine is not actually that important (at least, I don't think he is). But you will see who is here. I'm sorry for the angst! Oh, and two more things. Jonathan, Valentine's demon son, is Jonathan in here, not Sebastian. Sebastian is a decent person. Also, because I named the Institute the Morgenstern Institute, Valentine is actually Valentine's _last _name in this story. Sorry for any confusion. If you need something cleared up, review and I'll set it straight. Actually, review anyways.

Warning on this chapter for language. And great amounts of anger and hitting inanimate objects. Sorry, guys.

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews for the last chapter! They inspire me!

The rest of this story is dedicated to Cailee until further notice, because without her, I would have given up already.

Disclaimer: I own the plot. Cassandra Clare owns the characters.

Onto the story!

Alec spotted Magnus just before lunch. Smiling, Alec started towards him, but stopped suddenly. They were in a hallway in the main building during passing period, so it wasn't weird for Magnus to already be talking to someone. That wasn't what twisted Alec's stomach in knots.

Magnus was leaning against a locker, looking tall and lithe and very hot, talking to a pretty brunette girl. She batted her eyelashes and laughed at something Magnus had said. Magnus was flirting; it was obvious. Even that wasn't weird. Alec may only have known the other boy for a few days, but he could already tell that Magnus was naturally flirty. No, the problem arose, hot and unpleasant in Alec's chest, dangerously like jealousy, when Magnus laughed and pushed himself into a proper standing position again. He kissed the brunette's mouth lightly, and laughed again, fluttering his fingers in a wave. _What the hell? _Alec thought, incredulous. So Magnus had just been playing around? He had no right to mess with Alec like that! Alec approached him, trying to look pissed off and not hurt.

"Magnus?" To his shame, Alec's voice came out more plaintive than angry.

Magnus turned to him, and his face abruptly fell flat. "Oh. Hi."

"Who was that you were just talking to?"

Magnus achieved the snappy tone that eluded Alec. "A girl." The '_idiot'_ was implied. He sneered. "God, Lightwood. Don't look at me like that. It's not really any of your business. It's not like you're my boyfriend."

Alec felt like his stomach dropped out. Of course, he _knew _he wasn't Magnus's boyfriend. Alec wasn't even out of the closet yet, not really. It didn't make him feel better. He tried not to whine. "I just thought—"

"Don't be so stupid." Magnus sneered again, spun on one booted heel, and sauntered away in his own personal shimmering aura.

Rejection poured through Alec, choking him. He slumped against the lockers next to him. He had thought Magnus liked him. He had flirted, hadn't he? He had told Alec to call him and he had told him he was cute and they talked about music and laughed, didn't they? Did that honestly not mean a thing in the world of Magnus Bane? He had thought—well, maybe he was stupid.

Someone put a hand on Alec's shoulder. Jumping, Alec turned, before realizing that he didn't really want anyone to see his face right now. White-blond hair, a tall, athletic frame, and an aristocratic face met his eyes.

"Saw that," the boy said sympathetically to Alec. "You alright?"

"Oh—yeah." Alec felt ashamed. "I'm fine."

"Sorry, that was rude. I'm Jonathan," the boy introduced himself.

"Alec," Alec muttered.

"I don't want to be intruding or anything. It just looked like Magnus sort of shot you down right there," Jonathan noted.

"Something like that." Something very like that. There was, however, something trustworthy about Jonathan that made Alec feel like he could talk to him without being afraid of what he would think. "I just thought he seemed so nice, before. I have no idea what I did to piss him off. I just met him!"

Jonathan winced. "Yeah, unfortunately for you, Magnus is sort of notorious for that sort of thing."

"What do you mean?" Alec asked, confused.

Jonathan looked like he wished he hadn't opened his mouth. "I hate saying this to you, because you seem decent, but he probably just got bored with you." _Ouch. _"Magnus is… well, a bit of a slut, to be honest. He probably didn't give a damn about you; he just wanted to get into your pants." _Double ouch._

"I never even kissed him," Alec said, confused and hurt. "How could he possibly get bored that fast?"

Immediately after Magnus said the words, he wanted to take them back. Even for him, they had been very cold. He didn't even get down two hallways before he cracked and turned back around. Forget what happened with Daniel, he told himself. He had to apologize.

When he spotted Alec again, he was leaning against the lockers, looking utterly defeated. And talking to him was—Lord, save that poor Lightwood boy—Jonathan Valentine, that bastard. Quite literally, there was no one on the earth that Magnus hated more that Jonathan, not even the Student Council and Magnus's father _combined_, and that was saying something.

By the time Magnus made it half-way over to them, Alec's eyes were shining, and not in a happy way. More in a barely-keeping-it-together-before-I-burst-into-tears way. He nodded to Jonathan and walked away, shoving past Magnus viciously.

"Nice to know all you wanted was to get into my pants," he hissed. "At least it's not like that's new for you. Sorry I'm too boring for you to even be interested in that."

Magnus opened his mouth, desperate to correct Alec, to apologize for being such an ass, to say he was just scared of getting hurt, and being scared was scarier to him than being hurt and he didn't know what to do, no matter how self-assured he seemed. But Alec was gone, and Jonathan was standing in front of Magnus wearing a self-satisfied smirk that made Magnus's blood boil.

"What the fuck did you tell him?" Magnus snapped at the blond boy.

"Such language," Jonathan sighed languidly. "I didn't tell him anything that wasn't true."

"Bastard," Magnus hissed. He poked a finger topped with a sharp purple nail into Jonathan's chest. In his boots, Magnus towered over him, but Jonathan didn't look particularly impressed. "But I bet you put a spin on it so he would never so much as look at me again."

"I didn't need to," Jonathan sneered. "You did that all on your own. Sorry, but I have lunch. Enjoy the rest of your life alone. Maybe if you weren't such a slut, people would actually want to be with you."

"_I'm _the slut? Watch who's talking!" Magnus yelled after him as Jonathan strutted away. The latter threw Magnus one last sneer before rounding the corner and vanishing.

Magnus whirled around and smashed a locker furiously with his textbook. As he stalked away in the other direction, he heard a kid call after him, "Hey! You dented my locker!"

Magnus spun back to him. "Which is more important here, kid: You're bloody locker, or my love life being ruined by a blond demon boy with a shitty personality and worse hair products? Before you answer, keep in mind that I have a fan club and I'm not afraid to use it."

The kid did not answer. Magnus continued his rampage down the hallway.

A/N: Oh, you guys are lucky! That was a fast update, and I didn't even get that many reviews *glares threateningly at all the readers who did not take ten seconds out of their busy schedules to type three kind words into a popup window* I'm kidding. Sort of. Please review! Reviews are like food—I need some to keep me going. Actually, they're like chocolate or extra credit points—if I don't get them, I don't bother. You are all so great! And I'm sorry this story is taking a turn for the angst. It was Cailee's fault. But have no fear! We have a plan. Well, she does. I'm going with it. But it's a good plan! So have faith! And review! LOVE

K


	11. Well This Sucks

A/N: So school's almost out! On the other hand, it's finals week, which is why I'm being so inconsistent. Sorry guys. Thank you all for your fabulous reviews! They made me so happy when I read them after I finished my paper for _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ last night. Thank you thank you thank you!

I'm sorry I didn't reply to all your reviews individually like I usually do. I'll try to do better this time!

Disclaimer: The characters are Cassandra Clare's. The plot is mine and Cailee's. The reviews are yours.

Alec could not believe his luck. Just this morning, he had felt fantastic; he had slept well, avoided a poisonous breakfast, lost some of his jealousy, and had a gorgeous guy waiting for him at school. And now, he had what? The same gorgeous guy who was onlyh using him. A day gone to hell. Oh, and his jealousy? Yeah, it was definitely still there, with a vengeance.

He had been looking for Jace; he needed the car keys and Jace was always the one who had them during school, due to the fact that he was always the last outside after the day was over and he didn't want to be left behind. Alec found him. Actually, he found Jace _and _Clary, in a… compromising position.

Any hope that he was truly over Jace—or even sort of over Jace—went out the window. In his mind, Alec screamed and kicked over desks and pulled out Clary's pretty red hair and punched her mouth that was where he wanted his to be. And then he kicked himself for thinking that sort of thing. In reality, he clenched his fists and coughed loudly.

The couple pulled away from each other so fast, Alec half-hoped that Clary would get whiplash. She did look a little dizzy as she turned as bright red as her hair. Jace covered up his annoyance at the interruption by lounging carelessly against the wall Clary had been pressed against seconds before, assuming a supremely bored expression.

"Do you need something, Alec?" he asked curtly.

Alec took a deep breath and counted to ten to keep himself from screaming his rage and frustration and disappointment. "Yeah, the keys," he said in a barely controlled voice.

"Why?" Jace frowned.

"I'm going home."

Now Jace pouted. "How will I get home?"

"Get a ride from someone else," Alec snapped, snatching the keys that Jace tentatively offered.

"Jeez, okay. Are you sick or something?"

"I'm fucking FINE!" Alec's control slipped. He took another lungful of air, trying to regain it.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be going home halfway through the day," Jace pointed out, unfazed. "What, is this about some guy?"

Alec gaped at him for a moment. Jace didn't even know—there was no way he could know!—that Alec was gay. Right? But somehow it seemed that Jace _did _know, and that scared Alec to death. However, at that moment, his presence of mind wasn't really, well, present. "No, it is NOT about _some guy_," he spat. Magnus's sneering face filled his mind.

"Is it about _me_?" Jace asked.

Alec sort of lost it at that. Who was Jace to be asking these things? Maybe it _was _about him, but it wasn't any of Jace's business anyways! Besides which, it pissed him of even more that he cared who Jace made out with. "Not EVERYTHING is about _YOU, _Jace Lightwood!" Alec yelled. He slammed his way out of the classroom, hissing expletives his own father probably didn't know under his breath.

"Wow," he heard Jace say from behind him. "It's usually me who storms out in fits of rage. This must be a _really_ shitty day."

Magnus fully intended to use calculus class to apologize to Alec, proving that, contrary to popular belief, we do use math in our everyday lives. By sixth period, he was very close to desperate. Alec's furiously hurt expression seemed to be burned into his eyelids. He never got so attached, especially not to someone he had never so much as kissed, let alone slept with. But maybe all that proved was that he was nearly as much of a slut as Jonathan had said. It was not a comforting thought.

But when he walked into the basement classroom, Alec wasn't there. Magnus lurked by the doorway until the bell rang, earning some very weird questioning looks from Ragnor, but the boy didn't show. What was going on? Was Alec skipping? Magnus's heart sank as he slunk back to his seat, recognizing the most likely cause of Alec's absence. He would rather risk detention and a failing grade than see Magnus again.

"What's going on?" Ragnor whispered across the aisle between the desks as the teacher began the lesson.

"After class," Magnus muttered back.

The period passed both painfully slowly and agonizingly fast. Magnus kept glancing at the door, hoping Alec would walk in, making the time drag on. But at the same time, he was dreading talking to Ragnor, knowing his friend would call him an idiot and a tease and worse, and he would deserve it. Alec didn't walk in. Ragnor didn't suddenly develop a mysterious illness and run out of the classroom, conveniently forgetting his conversation with Magnus. Nothing was going his way today.

"So what is going on with you?" Ragnor insisted the instant the bell rang. "You look like shit."

"Wow, thanks, _Rag_." Magnus rolled his eyes irritably. "So encouraging."

"Don't call me that," Ragnor snapped. "Tell me."

Magnus groaned, giving in as the pair walked into the hallway. "I did something really, really stupid and now I feel like a complete idiot and I'll be alone for the rest of my life and I am such a bitch and a horrible person and—"

"Quite a list," Ragnor cut him off, raising his eyebrows. "What on earth did you do?"

"Ugh, you're going to yell at me," Magnus moaned.

"Oh god, you aren't drunk, are you?"

"Ragnor!" Magnus said loudly. He slapped his friend's arm. "We're at _school_! NO I am not drunk!"

"Hasn't stopped you before," Ragnor pointed out, sighing with relief. "I was worried. So what is it then?"

"IsortoftoldAlectof-'msomadatmyselfIcoulddie."

"Um….What?" Ragnor asked, screwing up his face as if to try to comprehend Magnus's super-speed talk.

Magnus took a deep breath. "I was a bitch to Alec and now he'll probably never speak to me again."

"You. Are. Such. An. Idiot," Ragnor said slowly. "What _exactly _did you say to him? Because if this doesn't get fixed, let it be known that it was NOT my fault and that I knew you would whine about it for months."

Magnus caved. He could never keep anything from his best friend, and maybe Ragnor would be able to help him. He told him everything. "It wouldn't be that bad," he concluded as Ragnor shook his head in disgust. "I mean, it would still suck. It's just that Jonathan fucking Valentine is involved!"

"First things first, you have got to show some self control around that boy," Ragnor told Magnus.

"Which boy?" Magnus asked, trying to smirk and failing.

"Both of them!" Ragnor snapped. "You lose your temper every time you see Valentine and you lose your mind every time you see Alec! Get a grip!"

Magnus was too angry with himself to even argue with this. He nodded dejectedly. "I know."

"Good." Ragnor didn't press it further. "So now, just go and _apologize _to your dream boy when Valentine isn't around. This isn't that hard."

"He won't listen to me," Magnus protested. "I doubt he'll even stay in my presence long enough for me to get out 'Hello.'"

"You never know until you try," Ragnor said. "So try." Then, under his breath, "You royally fucked this one up, Magnus Bane."

Magnus agreed.

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed! Or at least didn't hate. Again, thank you so much for all of your reviews; please, leave more! I love you all! LOVE

K


	12. Advice: The Brother and Cat Editions

A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON! I cannot BELIEVE this took me so long and I feel so awful about it! I had to go to my brother's graduation and then it was my birthday and then I went to this international competition on the other side of the country, but that's not an excuse! I am so extremely sorry and I hope I haven't lost any readers! Thank you all for the reviews!

Oh, and I got my wisdom teeth out today, so if this seems horribly spacey, that's why.

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own it. That was not one of my birthday presents.

"What's wrong, Alec?" Max's childish voice startled his big brother as Alec walked inside. He had forgotten that their parents were sending Max home that day, while they continued their business trip.

"Oh, Max. Hi!" Alec greeted, trying to sound excited.

"Why are you home, Alec? It's not even noon. Don't you have school?" Max hugged his older brother enthusiastically through the questions.

"Sorry, Mom," Alec joked. "I wasn't feeling good."

"Are you sick? You don't look sick," Max pointed out perceptively. "What's wrong?"

Alec deliberated. He didn't really want anyone to know exactly what was going on, but on the other hand, he did want to talk to someone. And Max probably wouldn't really understand in any case. Besides, he was one of the least judgmental people Alec knew. _And _Max was looking at him with those big, caring, puppy-dog eyes. Alec caved.

"You're right; I'm not sick," he admitted, leading the way to the white leather couch and collapsing onto it. Max sat, supporting, beside him.

"So what happened?"

Alec hesitated again. He had to tell Max what was going on without revealing any of his secrets. "Well, I made this friend at school," he began carefully. "And I thought he would be a really good friend. But then I found out that he was just using me and didn't want to be my friend at all."

"How did you find out that he was using you?" Max asked.

Alec blinked. "Someone told me," he said. "They said that he does that sort of thing all the time."

"Are you good friends with the person who told you? Do you trust them?" Max really was way too smart to only be in the fourth grade. It was disconcerting.

"Well, I met him pretty recently," Alec said slowly. "But I don't think he was lying."

"But how do you know he was telling the truth?" Max questioned. "If you don't know him that well?"

"Well…." Alec felt slightly stupid, but still pretty sure he was right. "Maybe…."

"Maybe he was lying," Max suggested. "Maybe he was jealous that you were friends with the other guy."

"Jealous?" Alec asked, sidetracked. "Why on earth would he be jealous?"

Max shrugged and grinned. "I'd be jealous if someone was friends with you and I wasn't." With that he jumped up, hugged his big brother again, and wandered off into another part of the house.

Alec sat on the couch for a long time, thinking how sad it was to be getting advise on his love life from his little brother.

Magnus collapsed on the bright pink chair in the middle of the room when he got home. "God," he groaned. A tiny white cat padded out from the kitchen, mewling. "God," Magnus repeated. "C'mere, Chairman Meow. I need some comfort." The cat leapt into Magnus's lap. Magnus stroked Chairman's ears miserably as the cat purred. "I'm so stupid, Chairman," Magnus sighed. Chairman meowed. "I know I'm stupid a lot," Magnus agreed. "But this really tops all."

"Meow?"

"I was a total bitch to this guy I really, really like. And now he's pissed at me." Magnus heaved another sigh.

"Meow!"

"Yes, I _know _him getting mad was justified. But it still sucks! And then Jonathan bloody Valentine had to get involved!"

Chairman Meow growled.

"Quite right." Magnus nodded. "He's a bloody bastard."

"Mroooow!"

"I agree." Magnus stroked Chairman's head. "But anyways, now Alec won't even look at me and I feel like a complete moron."

"Meow."

"Wow, thanks, Chairman," Magnus said sarcastically. "That's really what I need right now. Honestly, you don't need to rub it in."

"Mrow."

"I got the message!"

"Meow. Grrr."

"I am not pathetic! I'm miserable!"

"Mrow."

"I can't just go _talk to him_." Magnus rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Meooow. Mroow." Chairman hissed to punctuate his point.

"'You never know until you try?' Please, Chairman. This time, I _know_."

"Mew. Meow."

"God, you are being such a bitch right now, Chairman, you don't even _know_." Magnus crossed his arms and glared at the cat, annoyed.

"Meooooow!"

"No. You _don't_ know."

Chairman hissed, leaping off of Magnus's lap, and sauntered from the room regally, or as regally as a four-inch-long cat can look.

Magnus sat on the couch for a long time, thinking how sad it was to be getting advice on his love life from his hamster-sized cat.

A/N: Again, I apologize over and over for this taking so long! I hope you enjoyed it, though. I thought Chairman Meow was pretty fabulous myself. Anyways, please review! I actually will update faster this time!

Oh, and thanks, Cailee, love :-) You rock.

LOVE

K


	13. Not Moping

A/N: Yay! I updated fast(er)! Thank you so much for all the reviews; as always, they made my day every day. This chapter may be kind of short because the next major event deserves a chapter all to itself, but some other things have to happen first. So we'll see how this goes, ok? Enjoy!

Oh, some of you have asked me why Magnus hates Jonathan so much, because it seems sort of unjustified. Well, have patience! All good things come to those who wait (not those who do the wave, ahem, Simon). All will be revealed in good time! Jeez. Have some faith.

Disclaimer: I got an ice cream maker for my birthday. While it was a fabulous present, the rights to Mortal Instruments were not hidden inside, so no, I still don't own it.

Alec did not want to speak to anyone, even Max, who had been lovely and understanding and wonderful. He wanted to sleep. He had gotten his heart stomped all over with high-heeled boots, his dignity shredded by a red-headed girl making out with the best friend/brother who Alec always had wanted more from, his hopes crushed by a boy he barely knew assuring him of Magnus's apathy, skipped half a day of school, and spilled his bleeding heart out to a nine-year-old. He was exhausted. At least Max decided to leave him alone, and after a few snaps after their questions, Isabelle and Jace followed suit.

That had all happened the week before, and things weren't improving much. Isabelle and Jace tiptoed around him, not wanting to set him off again after he had yelled at them a few days before about nosing into things that had nothing to do with them. However, that arrangement was sure not to last. Jace had little regard for anyone's feelings and would definitely come poking at Alec's wounds just for fun, if not curiosity. And Isabelle was too interested in gossip to keep Alec off the hook for long.

At the very least, now Alec had someone other than his siblings to sit with at lunch. He spent the half-hour across from Jonathan every day, trying not to mope and to pay attention to Jonathan's jokes and comments.

"Honestly, Alexander," Jonathan said impatiently one day at lunch, leaning forwards to stare at Alec. "Were you even listening?"

"Um, yeah," Alec said guilty. "Lindsee. Softball. Hoping she'll break up with her boyfriend."

Jonathan leaned back again, only slightly placated. "Well I'm glad you can listen and brood at the same time," he said.

"I'm not brooding," Alec said defensively. "I was listening. Why would I be brooding?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes, patience clearly wearing away. "Honestly," he repeated. "You're still all hung up on Magnus Bane. You're like a fifteen year old girl with her first crush, only your crush is a freaky, glitter-loving man-whore who couldn't give a rat's ass about you."

Alec winced; Jonathan's words stung. "I'm not hung up on him," he muttered, but he knew he was lying and that Jonathan was right. It was pathetic.

"Trust me, Alexander," Jonathan said, ignoring this. "He doesn't give a damn." He enunciated each word clearly. "You are not his type. Magnus Bane dates highly attractive, popular party-goers with a taste for the dangerous. And that's really not you, is it?" Alec tried to ignore the degrading note in this comment; after all, Jonathan was his only friend just then, and Alec was too depressed to talk back.

It wasn't even all about Magnus, Alec thought defensively. Sure, it absolutely sucked to be so completely rejected by someone so… well, so _everything_, but Alec didn't even really know Magnus and he couldn't possibly care that much about him. He even believed it when he told himself that. But that was only part of the puzzle. Alec hated moving schools; despite Isabelle's help, he still got lost. His teachers didn't really like him; his other school hadn't taught the subjects at the same pace, so he was either bored all the time, or struggling to keep up. He hadn't made any friends besides Jonathan, either, and Alec wasn't totally sure about him. He often said things that sounded like compliments, but had an undercurrent to them that seemed uncomfortably close to cruelty. And then there was Jace. Jace and Clary. It rolled off the tongue well, but it tasted sour in Alec's mouth. It had always been Jace and Alec, for as long as he could remember, even when Jace had been dating other girls. Alec had always been number one, a first priority, the brother, the friend, the One Who Mattered. Now, he was the One Who Was Shunted Aside to make room for The Girlfriend. And that wasn't even beginning on Alec's complications on whether or not he should tell Jace, or, god, his parents, that he was gay. It was a nightmare. Frankly, he was miserable.

After school that day, Alec holed up in his room, putting his earphones in and taking his books out, and drowning everything in Nickelback and American history. Well, for about five minutes anyways, before Jace barged in and draped himself gracelessly all over Alec's bed, effectively blocking Alec's efforts to work. Alec glared. Jace pulled out Alec's earphones.

"I'm sick of your moping," Jace declared without preamble. "And so is Isabelle. And don't deny you've been doing it; you've stolen my job as drama king all week and I want it back."

Alec yanked his notebook out from under Jace's legs and kept glowering. "Leave me along, Jace," he snapped.

Isabelle appeared at Alec's door. "Nice, Jace," she said, rolling her eyes. "You know, insulting him probably wasn't the best way to go about this."

"It wasn't an insult!" Jace protested.

"Go about what?" Alec asked warily.

"We're going to the movies," Isabelle declared. She was not one for beating around the bush. Jace folded his arms, backing her up.

"What?" Alec asked.

"You, me, Jace, movies," Isabelle said slowly. "Now."

"Why?"

"Because," Jace answered, "like I said, we're tired of your moping. It's time to go out and do something fun, even if you don't want to."

"I am not moping!" Alec cried again. Isabelle and Jace both glared at him. "And I have homework," he added, somewhat lamely.

"It's Friday night and you don't have a choice," Isabelle said definitively.

"Who will look after Max?" Now Alec was just grasping at straws.

"He's not four years old," Jace said. "He can survive without us for three hours. Let's go."

Alec didn't really have much of a choice.

Magnus reflected, as he got in his car at six that night, that he had finally lost the battle with himself. Well, he had also won, but the side that he wanted to lose had won, and now he was all confused. He had kept himself well in check this past week. He hadn't gotten alcohol poisoning, he hadn't tried any weird drugs, he hadn't woken up next to someone he didn't know, no matter how hot, he hadn't missed more than two homework assignments, and, most importantly, he hadn't jumped Alec Lightwood. It had been a very close thing. And now, he gave up the fight.

He had found Alec's address in the phone book, while Chairman Meow sharpened his miniscule claws on the couch. And now, he sat outside the huge house and wondered just how crazy he had gone. He thought of Daniel again, how he had shredded every feeling Magnus ever had for him in just a few words. Every time Magnus remembered, he swore he would never get in such a close relationship again, but he was slipping and he knew it. He reflected dryly that Daniel had started going out with Maia the next month and had left her bleeding in an alley not long after, so Magnus was probably well rid of him, but it didn't really make the sting better. Maia had taken it better than he had, though.

Well, Magnus thought, staring resolutely at the huge front double doors, he still had to apologize, and warn Alec away from Jonathan Valentine. He unfolded himself from his car and stepped up to the porch, and rang the doorbell.

It was a little kid that opened the door. His glasses obscured his face and magnified his eyes, but he was definitely related to Alec. Magnus didn't really expect the first words out of his mouth, though.

"Anime characters _are _real!" he said in awe. Magnus stared at him for a moment, eyebrows raised. "Sorry," the kid said abruptly. "Hi."

"Hi," Magnus said, brows still up. "Is Alec here?"

The kid shook his head. "Izzy and Jace took him out," he said. "They said they were sick of him moping and he had to do something fun on a Friday night."

"Moping?" Magnus asked. Alec hadn't seemed very mopey to him. Angry, perhaps, but not mopey.

The kid shrugged. "He didn't say much. Something about him wanting to be friends with this guy but the guy was using him or something. I don't know. I thought he was talking about a _girl _from the way he talked. He's been hiding in his room all week." The kid wrinkled his nose. "But he's not here. You want me to tell him you were here?"

"Um… yeah," Magnus said. "I'm Magnus. Just tell him I really want to talk, and… and I'm sorry, okay?"

The kid scrutinized him. "Yeah, okay," he said at last. "I'll let him know." He pushed the doors shut and Magnus was left standing on the porch, running his hand through the spikes in his hair.

A/N: So I was wrong! It was a looooong chapter! Aren't you happy? I am! Now I can get to some good stuff! Well, good-er. That's a word, right? Oh, no, it's better! I got it! Don't tease. I've been on opiates for painkillers for my wisdom teeth all week and I'm totally out of it. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! As you know, I live and die by your reviews, so, review! They make me update faster! LOVE

K


	14. Stakeouts and Backstabbing

A/N: Another fast update! I'm spoiling you guys all over again. Hahaha. Well. Sort of :P This chapter is dedicated to Cailee because she rocks and it was mostly her idea. Actually, the entire rest of the story is dedicated to Cailee because I talked to her for three hours last night and came up with the rest of the story (and otherwise, this may have been the last chapter in a long time, so you should be thanking her.) Enjoy!

Oh, warning! Cussing in this chapter. If you care.

Disclaimer: Why do I put this? Clearly, I am not ridiculously rich off of the money from the Mortal Instruments books, or I would have better things to do with my time than write fanfiction about them. Namely, drive a Porsche and pick up hot guys. NOT MINE!

Oh, IMPORTANT! The wonderful faithful muse caught this, or I wouldn't have even noticed. I wasn't even thinking about Maia when I chose the name Daniel, but when I made the connection, I was actually thinking of Maia's ex, Jordan Kyle. Oops! Daniel is actually Maia's _brother _in the books. However, because I already screwed that up, Daniel can be yet another crappy ex boyfriend for the purposes of this fanfic. Sorry for any confusion!

It wasn't as if Alec intended to make Jonathan mad all the time. He just had a lot on his mind. When he, Isabelle, and Jace had gotten home the night before, Max had told Alec that Magnus had stopped by. _He said he wanted to talk and he's sorry_. Max's words rang in Alec's head all morning. Maybe, he kept thinking. Maybe they should talk. But every time Magnus looked his way, Alec glanced away. He was confused. He didn't know what to think.

Jonathan slammed his hand down on the table. "I am so sick of this, Alexander Lightwood."

"Why are we doing this?" Ragnor asked.

Magnus sighed, putting down the binoculars. "I told you, Ragnor."

"Actually," Ragnor mused, "I'm not even sure what we're doing."

"We're on a stakeout!" Magnus said loudly. Several people from the surrounding tables looked curiously around. Magnus ignored them, holding the binoculars up again.

"Yeah, you said," Ragnor commented.

Magnus set down the binoculars for a second time, looking impatient. "I'm trying to figure out a) why Alec has been avoiding my eye all morning—"

"More than usual, that is."

"And b) if he actually is mopey. And maybe sabotage Jonathan Valentine. Just a little." He pressed the binoculars to his face. "They're talking. Well, Jonathan is talking. Alec doesn't look like he's listening."

"You know," Ragnor said, "what is with the term 'stakeout'? There are never any stakes involved. It's not even like you stake down the tent or anything. Stakeout. Weird."

"There are very high stakes!" Magnus protested. "Does my love life count as something that is at stake here?"

"That was a horrible pun, Magnus," Ragnor informed him. "And this seems extremely stalker-ish."

Magnus ignored this. "I am so glad I can read lips," he muttered. "Although if I were Alec, I wouldn't be paying much attention to Valentine talking about Lindsee, again, either." Magnus winced. "And now he's getting all pissy about Alec not paying attention." In the next moment though, Magnus stood up so fast, the binoculars clattered to the floor.

"Magnus? What's wrong?" Ragnor asked. But Magnus was already stalking away, looking fierce and about as furious as Ragnor had ever seen him.

Alec also didn't mean to snap. But he did. "Sick of what, Jonathan?" he asked. "I have stuff going on in my life too, so sorry if I'm 'distracted'. I also don't care about Lindsee. I'm not really into girls."

Jonathan laughed. He laughed snidely, sneering at Alec as he did so. "Oh, I know," he said. "Which is why it is _so _amazing to me that you actually think I care about your problems." Alec gaped. Jonathan's laughter vanished. "God, you think I care about _you_? You, some stupid fag boy with an idiot gay crush on some bitch? And I cannot _believe _you bought all that about Magnus!" He threw back his head with another laugh. "I don't _know _Magnus Bane and I don't want to. He's just another fucking queer. How should I know if he's such a slut? He's got a reputation, but still, I can't believe you were so gullible." Alec was still staring. Jonathan stood. "So I hope you're happy that you screwed up your relationship with the glitter queen of the school by calling him a slut. The fake friendship was fun, but I'm sort of done with you. I don't hang around fags."

He turned, but his path was blocked. "You. Fucking. Bastard." Magnus Bane's voice was even. Jonathan snickered.

"You think I'm scared of you, Bane? Whatever. Go defend your ex-almost-boyfriend's honor."

"I will make your life hell Jonathan Valentine! You are a bloody bastard and I hope to God that you get run over by a semi."

"Wow. Original. All this for one boy? Magnus, I think you're going soft if one little insult to someone _else's _honor bothered you so much."

"And you are a complete moron if you think this is all about that. I've wanted to kill you since last summer."

"Last summer?" Jonathan yawned. "Hm. A lot of things happen over the summer. What was it that made you so mad again? Couldn't have been that important or I'm sure I would remember."

Magnus lost it. "You raped my cousin and when Sebastian Verlac found out, you ran over him with your car! Not a big event, Valentine? I could kill you now!"

"They never prosecuted," Jonathan pointed out. His mouth was laughing, but his eyes were ugly.

"You bribed the jury."

Jonathan yawned again. "Your cousin? The little Asian girl? Why on earth would I do that anyways? She isn't even that pretty."

Magnus punched him in the face. It was not a girly slap; it was a solid hit that bloodied Jonathan's nose.

The beating Magnus got for his attention consisted of considerably more than a bloody nose before Jace finally showed up, seeing his best friend was involved, and wrenched Jonathan away by the collar, hissing threats. Girl-fans of Magnus raced after them, screeching furiously. Teachers were sparse in the cafeteria, and though there was a large crowd of students watching, none showed up.

Alec watched it all helplessly. He was no fighter and he knew it, but he wanted to jump in to help. It was all over before he could unclench his stomach and move, though.

Magnus stood inside the ring of onlookers, swaying. His face was bloody, his weight rested on one leg, an arm cradled to his chest. "Fuck," he muttered. Alec could hardly believe he had made it through that standing up. Jonathan's intent had clearly been to pound the 'glitter queen of the school' into the ground.

Alec finally lurched forward, touching Magnus's shoulder. "Nurse?" he bit out?

Magnus shook his head slowly. "No. Bathroom." His voice was strained.

Alec took Magnus's arm and led him forwards. "Move!" he yelled at the kids standing in their way. They gaped at the pair, but moved aside. Any anger or confusion about Magnus was temporarily clouded out with alarm. He helped Magnus to the bathroom, walking as fast as he thought Magnus could. Once they were inside, Alec shut the door and turned around. Magnus sank to the floor.

"I'm impressed you didn't faint before," he commented shakily.

"Faint in front of my fan club? Never." Magnus seemed to be a little punch drunk.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked. He leaned down to assess the damage to Magnus's face.

"Nothing's broken," Magnus said hopefully. "I'm pretty sure."

Alec nodded, putting aside questions for the moment in favor of wetting a paper towel and handing it to Magnus. "Need help?" he asked.

Magnus shook his head and swiped at his face with the towel. His hand shook, and he almost missed. Alec shook his head as well and knelt beside him, taking the paper towel back. He gently wiped Magnus's face, trying to ignore the hiss of pain. There was a cut above his eyebrow from Jonathan's obnoxious class ring, and his cheek was bruised and his nose bleeding, but thankfully not broken. Alec fetched more paper towels, instructing Magnus to hold one to the cut and one to his nose to stop the bleeding. Then, he rummaged in his backpack and pulled out a mini first aid kit.

"You keep a first aid kit in your backpack?" Magnus joked weakly. "How paranoid is that?"

"If you had siblings like mine, you'd understand," Alec told him, pulling out a small bottle of antiseptic. He made Magnus move his hand and smeared some onto Magnus's forehead cut. Magnus winced. "A Band-Aid would look weird," Alec reflected. "You good without?"

"Yeah," Magnus said. "And what do you mean, siblings like yours?"

"Jace gets beat up a lot," Alec explained. "Even if he does usually win, the other side almost always gets in a good hit or two. Isabelle is just plain dangerous and girls try to scratch her eyes out on a regular basis. Max is horribly clumsy. If there's something to trip over, he trips. Sometimes he trips when there's nothing there."

"So that leaves you," Magnus said. He obeyed Alec's gesture and held out the hand clutched to his chest. "The one normal one in the family."

"I'm not sure 'gay' and 'paranoid' add up to 'normal,'" Alec muttered distractedly. He turned Magnus's hand over, then reached again for the kit. "I think your wrist is sprained," he said. He pulled out a roll of gauze and started wrapping Magnus's wrist tightly.

Magnus started, and not from the pain. He had thought Alec was still well in the closet, but there he was, slinging 'gay' around like it was common knowledge. Come to think of it, it sort of _was _common knowledge now, even if no one talked about it. And Magnus was not sure if Jace or Alec's parents knew, but a good number of their classmates did. Magnus couldn't help but feel a tiny bit proud of Alec.

"So why'd you do it?" Alec asked briskly, still concentrating on the gauze.

"Do what?" Magnus asked.

"Punch Jonathan."

"You heard why." Magnus leaned back against the cool tile wall.

"I know why you lost your temper," Alec agreed. "But why did you come over?" He didn't look at Magnus's face.

"He called you names." Magnus's words were soft. "Which is so third grade, but he made you think he was your friend and then he stabbed you in the back."

"Why would you care?"

The words stung, but Magnus deserved them. "Someone has to defend your honor," he said.

Alec helped him to his feet gently, biting his lip.

"And since I destroyed it so completely, I figured I should help build it up again."

Alec let out a breath. "Magnus—"

"I owe you an apology."

Alec stopped him before he could get any further. "Right now, you owe yourself a drive home, sleep, and an ice pack. Can you drive? Is your ankle okay?"

"I'll be fine; it's just twisted. But Alec—"

"Later." Alec said. "Okay? Later. I have to get to class—the bell rang five minutes ago."

Magnus sighed in defeat. "Later then."

"And Magnus—thanks."

Alec tried not to think that him delaying the apology was just a ploy to get to see him again. After all, he owed an apology of his own, and he needed some time to get his words in order.

A/N: Whoo! That took longer than I thought it would. I rather liked it, though. Finally you know why Magnus hates Jonathan! (Becca, I'm sure you're thrilled). So if you liked it, review! If you hated it, review and tell me why! LOVE

K


	15. Life Rocks Again

A/N: I am UNBELIEVABLY sorry that this took so long! I temporarily lost the notebook where I started this chapter, and stuff I had to do caught up with me. Forgive me! Thank you so much for all the reviews; you guys rock!

Oh, and shoutout because I can never remember your username and you never log in, MADDIE-LA! Yes, you can borrow CoFA when Hannah gives it back. Which should be soon, because she's already read it :)

Disclaimer: Ain't mine. I wish.

Jonathan arrived at school the next day with a bad temper and a face covered in scratches, clearly the work of some angry person's fingernails. Alec would not look at him, and vice-versa.

Magnus arrived at school with purpling bruises covered in glitter and a limp, but to him, Alec cast a hesitant smile and surreptitious glances. Magnus gave Alec much more noticeable looks, but his smile was equally tentative.

Jace arrived with a self-satisfied smirk despite the black eye he sported, and the grin he gave Jonathan was cheeky. The response he got was a snarl.

Isabelle arrived defeated—Jace hadn't listened to a word of the long lecture she had given him the night before about fighting, as if she was his mother—but the slightest bit proud of him.

Magnus's fan club arrived with smug faces and newly manicured nails.

Alec arrived nervous, hyper, and expectant. Something would happen today.

Alec walked into lunch alone and sat at an empty table. Isabelle looked hurt as he passed her and Jace by, but Jace smirked broadly. "Go get 'im, tiger!" he laughed. Alec gave him a weird look, but decided to ignore this bit of Jace oddness in lieu of calming himself down.

Alec picked at his lunch. He felt odd; he didn't usually eat alone. However, when Magnus sank down across from him, Alec knew his half-formed plan had worked.

Magnus looked, frankly, as kick-ass as ever. Yesterday's beating only revealed itself in his limp and extra layer of makeup, and the gauze wrapped around his wrist. The gauze, however, was black with bands of silver—Alec wondered where he had picked that up—and looked more like a fashion statement than a bandage.

"Hey," he said to Alec as he dropped his neon green bag on the floor.

"Hi," Alec said nervously, looking down. Now that Magnus was here, he lost everything that he had planned to say. Magnus looked so cool and calm, and Alec felt like an intimidated bumbling fool. But he still had to say something. He did not want the silence to turn awkward before he got his message across.

"Magnus—" The words stuck in his throat, and Alec fought against the hammering in his chest, forcing calm. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" At first, Alec thought Magnus had asked it to force Alec to give a real apology that took more than two seconds, but then, he glanced up and saw Magnus's astonished face. "I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"I…. I made assumptions about you that weren't fair," Alec explained. "From how you dress and talk and what other people said about you. So I'm sorry."

Magnus gave a short, dry laugh. "God, Alec," he sighed. "You are way too good for someone like me." He continued before Alec could think up a response to a statement like _that_, or even work out what he meant. "I was a total bitch to you, and I'm sorry, too. You didn't deserve that. I just…." He breathed out, frustrated, and ran a hand through his hair, mussing the spikes. "I had a bad relationship before. Well," he mused, "I've had about a hundred bad relationships. But this was the worst. And I started to feel like I did then, and I… freaked out."

A bad feeling pooled in Alec's stomach. "What happened before?" he asked, perfectly aware that he was probably nosing where he wasn't allowed.

Magnus grimaced. "A bad breakup," he said. Then he smiled reminiscently. "But before that, I fell completely head-over-heels in love."

Alec stared at him for several moments, trying to process this. "And you feel… the same way you did then?" Magnus gave him a small smile. "Wait." Alec thought for a second. "The bad breakup part, or the head-over-heels part?"

Magnus paused blankly, as if he couldn't believe Alec had asked such a stupid question. Then, just as Alec was starting to get nervous all over again, he threw back his head and erupted into laughter. "Oh Alec," he sighed, still chuckling. "You are so cute." When he found Alec still just looking at him, he smiled and leaned forward. "The head-over-heels part," he said quietly.

Alec bit his lip and ducked his head to hide a smile. Later, to Isabelle, he would deny the actions and the blush vehemently. He said, completely uncharacteristically, "I'm sort of head-over-heels, too."

And it seemed the right thing to say, because Magnus grinned and touched Alec's hand and asked, "So do you want to go out with me?"

"Yeah."

Alec would be the first to admit that he thought Disney was full of it and that fairytale moment everyone searched for did not exist. But when Magnus's eyes lit, even though his expression was as under-control as always, Alec thought that maybe Disney had the right idea after all. They just didn't add enough glitter in their romance scenes.

Then the bell rang and ruined the moment somewhat, but they were both still smiling.

"I'll see you in math," Magnus said, and squeezed Alec's hand as they parted.

Ragnor had been a bit miffed that Magnus had not called him the night before to tell him _everything_ about the fight and subsequent events. Magnus managed to placate him by going into great detail about all of it and overanalyzing every move Alec had made. This was more for Ragnor's benefit than Magnus's, because Magnus found it exhausting. Besides, Magnus had already gone through every scene in his mind about two hundred times. He also let Ragnor squeal for a full ten minutes about Magnus _finally _asking Alec out. Magnus did join in on that, though.

Ragnor was more than a bit miffed in math class when he found that his seat had been offered, and taken by, Alexander Lightwood himself.

"Replacing me already, Magnus?" he asked, sniffing in a highly superior manner.

Magnus smiled brilliantly at him. "Oh, don't worry Rag. You're irreplaceable." Then he whispered something in Alec's ear, and the two of them snickered.

"Say that to my face, you dog!" Ragnor cried. This, predictably, led to insults thrown everywhere and, in turn, spurned one of their famous pencil dueling matches. And if Magnus accidentally kicked Camille in the face jumping off her desk after she made a snide comment about maturity, he also won the fight. And if he ended up sprawled in Alec's lap, laughing, well Alec didn't complain.

A/N: So, you like? I actually meant this chapter to be the date, but stuff got in the way. So sorry if this is a bit of a filler. I hope you enjoyed! Please please please review! They make my day, every day! LOVE

K


	16. Dates and Innuendos

A/N: So is anyone else excited for the last Harry Potter movie? Because I AM! It's going to rock!  
>Sorry this update took so long. I hope you enjoy it<br>Also, has anyone read Cassandra Clare's short story about Magnus and Alec's first kiss? You can find it here: http:/ /cassie-claire . com/ cms/ kissed (just take out the spaces)

It rocks.

Disclaimer: It's not mine, yadda yadda yadda. Yep.

"Alec?" Jace's voice pulled his brother out of his Adam Lambert/Magnus-induced reverie.

"Yeah, what's up?" Alec asked, turning down the radio. Only two more hours until his date with Magnus. The fact made it hard to concentrate.

"Okay, here's the thing," Jace said. "I _know _Clary is into me—" Alec knew too, especially after seeing their make-out session—"but she won't go on a date with me today."

"Ask her another day," Alec said, wondering what this had to do with him.

"I want you to come on a double-date with us."

Alec stared at him. "_What?_"

"It's a good plan!" Jace insisted. "She's probably just nervous about being alone with me." Alec reflected that that was insanely egotistical.

"Or maybe she has other stuff to do tonight."

Jace plowed on. "This way, she'll see it as more of a group thing, but I'll also get to spend time with her!"

"Or maybe she has other stuff to do tonight and you should ask her another day."

"She couldn't make time for me? I doubt it."

"The world doesn't _actually _revolve around you, Jace," Alec pointed out.

"Just come with us," Jace said firmly.

Alec coughed. He hadn't really planned this, but it was about time, he supposed, butterflies in his stomach be damned. "The thing is, Jace…." Okay, he told himself. You admitted you liked Magnus today; what's one more confession? "I'm gay."

Jace, to Alec's astonishment, rolled his eyes and waved this away. "Yeah, I know. Your date would be Simon, duh."  
>Alec could do nothing but gape for a long minute. "Since when have you known?" he finally asked.<p>

"Since you got a boner at that ice cream shop where that guy was licking his cone very… provocatively."

Alec turned bright red. "Oh. Yeah."

"So will you come?"

"Jace," Alec sighed, "Simon is many things, but gay is not one of them."

"You don't think?" Jace mused.

"No," Alec assured him. "Trust me." He quickly added, "And I will not be your third wheel whenever you get a date with Clary. Ask her out some other time."

"What if she doesn't want to go out with me?" Jace whined.

"Has that ever actually happened before?" Alec asked. "Besides, the worst that could happen is she'll give you the number to rejection hotline and you'll move on and be making out with someone else next week like you always do."

Jace pouted. "Please?"

"No. I have plans tonight anyways." Alec reflected that he had never directly turned Jace down before. It was strange. Bur it would be way to painful to watch him make eyes at the redhead while Alec sat by and did nothing.

"It's Tuesday night! Homework does not count as plans."

"Goodbye, Jace." Alec closed the door in Jace's face.

"I miss the old Alec who did everything I told him to!" Jace yelled through the wood.

"I miss the old Jace who I could throw mud at and he would know to leave me alone!" Alec called back.

2 hours later

Clary rolled her eyes when her phone rang, interrupting her conversation with Simon. She set down her slice of pizza and grabbed her cell. "Sorry, Simon," she sighed. "Wish I had caller ID." Simon shrugged understandingly as she pressed Send. "Hello?"

It was Jace's voice that greeted her. "Clary? Hi."

"Oh, hey," she said, turning slightly away from Simon who scowled. "What's up."

"I was wondering if you had plans later this week."

"Um, I'm actually out with Simon right now. Can I call you back?" she said. The door to the restaurant opened and she glanced up. "Hey, Alec is here too!"

"What? Why is Alec there?"

Clary wasn't really listening, but thinking out loud. "Oh my god, he got Alec flowers? That is so sweet! Why do you never get me flowers?"

"Wait, who is _he_?" Jace asked. "Does Alec have a _boyfriend_?"

Clary had no idea how Jace hadn't picked up on it; everyone else had noticed. "Magnus, yes," she said impatiently. Jace was horribly oblivious. "Seriously, that is adorable. Why do you never get me flowers?"

Jace got the impression it was time to hang up. "I'll call you back later."

Alec fought a pleased blush when Magnus pulled his chair out for him. He took a last deep breath of the brilliant bouquet he held before setting it down on the table between them as Magnus seated himself. "You went all out," he commented shyly.

"I'm not sure Taki's counts as 'all out,'" Magnus noted. "Someday, I'll _really _go all out. And when that day comes," he smirked, "you will dance with me."

Alec laughed. "Still thinking about that? I thought you'd have gotten over it by now."

"I will think about it every day until you dance with me," Magnus promised solemnly. Alec bit his lip and grinned.

They looked over their menus without speaking for several moments.

"I feel like I hardly know you," Magnus admitted after a while. Then, his face lit up. "I know! Let's play 20Questions!" A waitress came and took their orders, diverting his attention for a minute.

When she was gone, Alec shrugged. "Okay. But we both have to answer every question."

Magnus nodded in agreement. "Me first. What's your favorite movie?"

"All the questions in the world, and you want to know my favorite movie?" Alec asked.

"All the time in the world, and I want to know _everything_."

Alec blushed. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," he answered. "Or The Italian Job. Yours?"

"Hm…" Magnus said. "There are so many! The Italian Job _was _good." He thought a moment. "Easy A. Or Rent."

"I've never seen those," Alec admitted.

Magnus gasped. "_What?_ You've never seen Rent? We have _got _to watch that together."

Alec smiled shyly. "It's a date." Magnus laughed. "My turn," Alec said. "Favorite color?"

"Rainbow," Magnus replied without hesitation.

"I said color, not color scheme."

"Well, what's yours?"

Alec sighed. "Blue. Pick a color. One color."

Magnus stared unashamedly at Alec's eyes. "I like blue, too." Alec blushed again and looked down at the table top, and Magnus smiled. "Cute. Favorite TV show?"

"Bones. Or…." He stopped, blushing redder. "Never mind."

"What? No!" Magnus exclaimed. "Don't 'never mind' me!"

"It's nothing!" Alec protested.

"Of course it is. Now, what were you going to say, Alec darling?"

"Nothing!"

"Alec." Magnus leaned forward. "If you don't tell me, I will be forced to do terrible, awful things to you until you do." His voice was low and sultry. Alec gulped. If he could have blushed harder, he would have.

"It's nothing," he repeated weakly. "Really."

"Alexander."

Alec sighed in defeat. Magnus's eyes were just too intense. "Glee," he said, almost under his breath.

"I LOVE Glee!" Magnus practically squealed, turning heads towards their table. "I cannot believe that is your secret pleasure." His tone turned mischievous. "What other dirty little secrets do you have, Alec love?"

"My turn!" Alec said hastily, backing out of the twist the conversation had taken. Magnus leaned back, not betraying disappointment, but smirking broadly. "Favorite book?" Alec asked.

"I don't' really read a lot," Magnus disclosed. "Maybe the Vampire Diaries, or Nightworld."

"Closet vampire-holic?" Alec asked, teasing.

"Oh, honey, I'm not a closeted anything. Your favorite?"

Alec paused. "Unwind," he answered at last.

"Oh my god that book is like sex in pages!" Alec stared. Magnus began to laugh at the expression on his face. "It rocks," Magnus clarified. "A lot. It's smooth and flows well and it's intense and fast-paced and the climax was amazing."

Alec was pretty sure that if the blood didn't stop rushing to his face, he would faint soon due to insufficient oxygen circulation to the rest of his body. He hid his face in his hands. "I cannot believe that you compared a book about grafting body parts onto people to sex," he mumbled.

Magnus was still laughing when the waitress brought their food.

A/N: So I didn't elaborate the whole date with Magnus, but whatever. Sorry. I hope you liked it! Oh, and for everyone who likes this, (or hates it) I recommend Hip, Slick, Cool by Marauder's punk. She is awesome. Please review! LOVE

K


	17. Glowing like a JackOLantern

A/N: Sorry this took longer than anticipated. Doesn't it always? On the other hand, I wasn't sure what this chapter would be until I started writing (out of boredom) so it's not so bad. You can thank the fact that you can only watch 72 minutes of Megavideo at a time and I had to fill the gap with something to do. Thank you for the reviews! You guys rock!

Disclaimer: Duh. Not mine.

"So how did the date go?"

Magnus almost jumped out of his skin. "Jesus, Ragnor! How the hell did you get into my house?"

"It's not really a house," Ragnor pointed out. "I swiped your spare key six months ago."

Magnus accepted this; someone had to be able to get into his apartment in case he accidentally drank himself into a stupor. Not to say that that was something that happened often or anything. It was just a nice assurance that he wouldn't die of alcohol poisoning. "Still scared the shit out of me," he scolded.

Ragnor shrugged unapologetically. "So, reveal all, will you? Did you drive him home? Kiss him under the stars? Exchange passionate vows of your love?"

Magnus glared at his friend, discarding his jacket onto the couch and collapsing gracefully on top of it. "There was no driving home and no kissing," he said.

"_What?_ Magnus! I'm scandalized!" Ragnor's eyes were huge. "You're lying to me."

"He had his own car, and there was no kissing," Magnus said calmly.

Ragnor looked at him suspiciously. "There is no way. Also, what kind of date is that? Someone is supposed to pick someone else up for a date!"

"There is a way, and he's never really played the dating game before, so I didn't push it."

"So if there was no driving home and no kissing, why do you look like someone decorated you on the inside with Christmas lights and lit you up all glowy?"

"Glowy?"

"_Yes, _glowy. You're all smiley and you can practically see light surrounding you. You look like a jack-o-lantern."

"You sound like a drug addict, Ragnor," Magnus said comfortably.

"And yet, I am dead serious."

"I'm all _glowy_," Magnus rolled his eyes, "because I'm _happy_."

"Happy?"

"Please god, I'm begging you, tell me you've heard the word 'happy' before."

"Of course I've heard the word happy before," Ragnor snapped, sinking into an armchair himself. "But if there was no driving or kissing, why are you happy?"

Magnus sighed heavily. "I just spent an entire evening with a boy who forgave me for being a total bitch, a boy who is, in fact, the most wonderful boy on the planet. Isn't that enough?"

Ragnor squinted on him. "It's never been enough before. Also, if he's the most wonderful boy on the planet, then he's taken over my job. Where does that leave me?"

"Well, naturally it hasn't been enough before, because there's never been a before. There can only be one most wonderful boy on the planet, so no one else could possibly measure up. No wonder only the company of other, less wonderful people was enough. And you are one of the few truly fabulous people in the world, second only to myself."

"That sort of made sense," Ragnor said. "Sort of. And I'm not sure if that was a compliment or a diss."

"Compliment, darling. After all, there's really no way to measure up to my level of fabulosity, either, so you're just lucky to almost reach it."

"Definitely a diss," Ragnor reflected. "And if you're so smitten, why is Lightwood not way up there on the scale of fabulosity?"

"Alec doesn't have enough sass to be fabulous," Magnus explained. "That's why he's amazing and wonderful and marvelous and adorable instead."

Alec slipped in the front door, closing it softly behind him and holding tightly to the bouquet in his hand. In the den, he could hear loud smashes resounding off of the pristine white walls. He rushed to the room. "Jace, turn that thing down before the neighbors call the police!" he said loudly over the sound of the video game.

"It's fun!" Jace shouted back.

Alec rolled his eyes and clicked a remote lying on the couch, muting the system. "Jesus, it sounds like you're in here fighting demons every time you play this game," he said.

"Zombies," Jace corrected, just as his character was ripped to pieces by one of the green-skinned beasts. "Thanks for distracting me," he added crossly, tossing down the controller. "Now why did you not tell me you were going out on a date?"

Alec stared at him, the deer-in-the-headlights blank look on his face and the flowers in his hand hidden behind the couch. "Date? No date."

"Oh please, Alec," Jace scoffed. "You already admitted to being gay; what were you scared of? I wasn't going to rip your boyfriend to pieces or anything."

Alec hitched his shoulders. _Maybe because I was half-hoping…. _He cut off the thought very quickly, thinking again of Magnus. Beautiful, funny, interesting Magnus. "It didn't seem that important at the time," he said.

Jace gave him a disbelieving look, but didn't get the chance to poke holes through the flimsy excuse before Isabelle came barreling down the stairs and latched onto Alec's arm.

"Oh my _god_, Alec," she said. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were dating Magnus Bane?"

"When did you become psychic?" Alec and Jace asked at the same time. And then, Alec added to Jace, "And how the hell did you know I was on a date in the first place?"

"Maria Escobar tweeted that she saw you in a restaurant together," Isabelle said impatiently. "So it's true?"

"Clary called me and said she saw you two," Jace added.

"Oh my _god_," Isabelle squealed.

"Is nothing I do in my life _private_?" Alec asked irritably.

"No," Jace and Isabelle said at once.

"Now I want to know every single detail," Isabelle said firmly.

"Why?"

"Alec!" she sighed, exasperated. "He's the most popular guy in school and _you are dating him_, so spill right now." Alec cast a pleading look at Jace, who ignored him.

"I'm getting some soda and cookies," Jace announced. "Chiao."

"It wasn't really a date anyways!" Alec said quickly. "It was more of a friend thing, you know?" Even as he said the words, he knew his sister detected the lie. "He didn't even kiss me or anything," Alec added when Jace was gone.

"There does not have to be a kiss in order for something to be a date," Isabelle told him. "Now, I'm serious about wanting to know everything. Are those flowers?"

A/N: So yes, this was sort of a filler chapter, but we're moving forwards, I promise! Hope you enjoyed. Please review, guys! Reviews rock. LOVE

K


	18. Theater

A/N: Ok, I know it's been freaking forever. But shut up! School hasn't even started, and I'm already stressed. I also had the City swim meet (three days of all swimming, all the time. I am soooo tired) so stop complaining ;P On the other hand, so many reviews! Thank you guys all so much! You all rock epically. (And if you put this on favorites or story alerts but didn't review, well what are you waiting for? I know there are plenty of you. Fanfic _does _email me when that happens).

Disclaimer: It isn't mine. Don't come after me with your copyright infringement charges. I know what belongs to me, and sadly, Mortal Instruments aren't on the list.

The week passed with Magnus's playful flirting and Alec's shy responses. Alec also avoided Jace and Isabelle's questions pointedly, hoping the 'big deal' vibe would blow over soon. He was trying to keep out of the eye of the general public. It wasn't like everyone didn't know he was gay already, with Jonathan saying that he was a fag for the entire cafeteria to hear, but he still hated attention.

Magnus asked Alec to the movies on Friday night, in a low teasing voice during math class. Alec lost no time in informing Jace that he wasn't going home with him and Isabelle, and accepting Magnus's offer.

Ragnor could honestly not believe that Magnus hadn't even _kissed _yet, let alone the many, many things Magnus usually did in the first week of any relationship. Actually, Magnus couldn't believe it, either, and was growing increasingly impatient to claim Alec's mouth for his own. Even Alec, who was notoriously inexperienced (and slightly oblivious), had picked up on the tension. He would have had to have been deaf and blind not to. It made him slightly shaky with nervous excitement as the day drew to a close.

The ride to the theater was as quiet as time with Magnus could ever be: not at all. Magnus cracked jokes, some which made Alec laugh and others that made his whole body blush. This amused Magnus to no end, which only spurred him on more.

They pulled into the crowded lot and stepped out of Magnus's tiny, bright yellow car and into the last of the October sunshine.

"What do you want to see?" Alec asked as they sidestepped a truck full of hyperactive pre-teens.

"What do _you _want to see?" Magnus countered.

Alec shrugged self-consciously. "I don't really go to the movies all that much," he admitted, looking up at the list of the shows playing. "I don't know what any of these are about."

Magnus sighed melodramatically. "I really must teach you about culture, darling. Fine, I'll surprise you." Alec rolled his eyes, but accepted that that was just how Magnus was. When he put his hand into his pocket to grab his wallet, though, Magnus stopped him with long fingers wrapped around Alec's wrist. "And I'm paying," Magnus added. Alec opened his mouth to protest, but Magnus cut him off. "What kind of guy would I be if I didn't at least pay for my date's movie?"

"Doesn't the same apply to me?" Alec asked, surreptitiously glancing around to see if anyone had heard the word 'date'. Then, he reminded himself, annoyed, that he didn't _have _to watch out for eavesdroppers. For one thing, nobody here probably cared about him and Magnus, and for another, it was high time he peeked out of the closet.

"No, it doesn't," Magnus replied easily. It took Alec a second to force his mind back onto what they had been talking about. "I asked you out, so I'm the guy and you're the date."

"So I'm not even a guy now?" Alec asked, mock-insulted.

Magnus laughed at that, and used one long finger to tap Alec's nose, which the latter wrinkled in protest. "Adorable," Magnus chuckled.

"You just think the ticket guy is cute," Alec grumbled. He didn't even realize the words were out of his mouth until Magnus laughed again.

"Who, Neil?" He lowered his mouth to Alec's ear and spoke in a caressing whisper. "I must admit to ulterior motives." His breath brushed Alec's skin. "I'm actually showing you off, just a little."

Alec jerked back so he could whip his head around and stare at Magnus. "Showing me off?" he asked warily.

Magnus smirked. "Neil kept asking me out. He got a little loud when I refused him. Not that he isn't cute," he reflected. "But considering the trade-off, I'm really glad I did." His eyes raked up and down Alec's slight frame. Magnus chuckled when Alec blushed. "And besides, Neil's with Evan now, and they'll probably get married in Paris and live happily ever after, so he's probably happy, too. No, don't give me that look, Alec; I'm not joking. Those two are made for each other. If anyone is going to live happily ever after, they will."

"So you turned him down because you knew he and Evan would live happily ever after?" Alec asked dubiously.

"You are too cute. You'll be the death of me, I swear," Magnus declared, striding up to the window and not answering the question. Alec wondered when he had gone from the strong, reasonable, in-charge older brother to _cute_.

Magnus tried to insist on buying popcorn for them both as well, on the grounds that he owned a penthouse and a sports car, was well and truly loaded and could afford it, and he didn't want Alec worrying his pretty little head over things. Alec argued that he wasn't paying rent for a penthouse so he had nothing else to do with his allowance, and Magnus had already bought him a ticket, so he would feel greedy if he allowed Magnus to buy anything else. Magnus declared that he was awfully lucky to have snared the only guy as cute and generous as Alec, and gave in with good grace.

Alec had absolutely no idea what the movie actually was about. It was a dance movie, and he was really too busy marveling over the actor's ninja moves to pay a whole lot of attention to the plot. Alec had been a gymnast himself when he was young, but these people far surpassed anything he had even thought of doing. Also, he had been way more into karate when he was little, although he wasn't that fond of it anymore, but now he sort of wished he had stuck with his tumbling class. Well, he supposed that a six-year-old couldn't really be expected to know how he would feel at seventeen.

Halfway through the movie, the popcorn was almost gone, but Alec didn't believe in wasting food. He reached for the bucket, but Magnus's hand was already there. Alec hastily pulled back, but somehow, their fingers were tangled together and Magnus's bright eyes were glinting in the dark and Alec was blushing, _again_. Somehow, his hand ended up twined together with Magnus's in between them, and after that, Alec _really _had no idea what the movie was about. Magnus's hand was the product of a million moisturizers, creams, and various other skin products. It was soft and smooth and thin and warm, but strong and hard, like the rest of Magnus's body. Alec couldn't look away from their entangled hands, noticing even in the flickering dark the contrast between his own pale skin and the caramel of the other's. When he raised his eyes again, it was to meet Magnus's stare and faint smile. Alec's mouth parted slightly as his breath escaped him. Here it was, a classic magical moment, and he had _no idea what to do_. Should he look down? Smile? Look back at the screen? Say something?

Magnus leaned towards him slightly, sparkling gaze flicking between Alec's mouth and eyes. He paused for a second, the hesitation to gauge a reaction, to see how the movement would be received. Alec didn't move. Magnus closed the gap between them and pressed his mouth against Alec's.

It was a very good thing that Magnus had a lot of experience, because Alec still had no idea what to do. All he knew was that Magnus's lips were hot and soft and demanding and gone far too soon. There was a rush of fear and exhilaration because anyone here could see, but when Magnus pulled back and looked again at him, the rush had more to do with gleaming eyes in the dark and the heat lingering on his mouth.

A/N: Just want to say that For Your Entertainment by Adam Lambert came on my iPod as I was writing the kiss. And my first thought was, Oh the things Adam would do in a dark movie theater. It made me laugh. Also, the cliffie won't kill you. I promise :) Please review! LOVE

K


	19. Soul Mates

A/N: Yes, this did take WAY longer than I meant it to. I had the state swim meet way out in the middle of nowhere with no computer, so sorry! HOWEVER, your reviews rocked! Thank you all so much! Also, to everyone who got my Unwind reference in chapter 16 (MaybeNextTimeMaybeNever, malec 4 eva, mbrattoo), you rock. Like, a lot. Enjoy!

Magnus didn't squirm, even if Alec had been staring at him for nearly a minute. Maybe he squirmed inside, but he never, ever let his cool down. But okay, maybe he hitched his shoulders a little. It was a dark movie theater anyways; no one could _see_, so did it really matter? What was more important was why Alec was still sitting there, mouth slightly open with surprise, and not _doing anything._

"Well?" Magnus whispered. Luckily, the characters in the film were having a party or dance battle or something, and the noise was loud enough to drown out anyone else's voice.

"Oh." Alec's response was barely an exhalation of air. Magnus raised an eyebrow.

"_Well?_" he repeated. "This is usually the part where you say something. Or kiss me back," he added offhandedly. He really hoped Alec would take the latter option.

"Oh," Alec said again. "I…." He trailed off, looking confused.

"Is something wrong?"

A huge crash came from the sound system, making the pair of them jump. Magnus didn't let it interfere with his eyes' deadlock on Alec.

"No," Alec said, maybe a little faintly. It was probably just because he was whispering, though. "No, I just…. I didn't…."

If Alec said he hadn't expected it, Magnus though he might just start banging his head against the wall, possibly hard enough to give him a concussion. It wasn't like he had been subtle with his flirting, had he? And everything that had happened with Jonathan…. Hadn't Magnus made it very, very clear that he was into Alec? God, he hoped so. He was a hundred percent sure that Alec was very gay; Alec had said so himself. But there was no way he could possibly be so oblivious and careless and stupid as to think that he and Magnus were only friends. No. Way.

Alec interrupted his inner rant, his voice too fast. "I've never kissed anyone before."

Now Magnus was the one staring. "Oh." Wow. "Uh, do you really want to see the end of this?" He gestured to the screen.

Alec smiled faintly. "I don't really know what's going on anyways, so no."

Someone shushed them loudly. Magnus stood, glad that some rude lady had barged in ahead of them and saved all the middle seats so he and Alec had sat on the edge of the row. He kept his grip on Alec's hand as they descended the lighted steps, both of them cat-quiet.

Alec really, really hoped that this didn't disqualify him from the dating game, because if it did, he would be having some words with the refs.

"You've never kissed anyone?" Magnus's words were spoken into the chilled evening air as he and Alec walked towards the parking lot. They both used the walk to regain some of their cool and feel slightly less like bumbling fools.

"No…."

"Alexander Lightwood," Magnus sighed. "You are eighteen years old—"

"I'm seventeen."

"You are seventeen years old and probably the most gorgeous guy in the city. How on earth have you managed to get this far in your life without being kissed?"

"Well obviously now I haven't," Alec mumbled.

They had reached the car, and Magnus leaned across the hood towards Alec, hands folded like he was a gentleman at a conference. "Is that a bad thing?"

Alec's eyes darted around Magnus's face. "No…. No, it's not."

"No?"

Alec leaned forward then, too. And this time, he touched Magnus's mouth with his without hesitation. Magnus smiled against his lips as they kissed over the hood of his car. It wasn't like the hot, frantic kisses he was used to with his previous significant others, but this was a different kind of tantalizing. It was tentative, sweet, careful, like Magnus's own first kiss, four years ago. Only now he knew what he was doing, and it wasn't shadowed by the fact that his boyfriend had just gotten out of jail. It was just… sweet. And Magnus definitely wanted more.

They pulled away from each other after several long moments. Magnus smiled mischievously before sliding himself inside the car behind the wheel. Alec hastily followed suit on the other side, shutting the door.

Magnus touched Alec's cheek lightly with a manicured finger. "So I'm really your first kiss?" Alec nodded. Magnus smiled. "I think that's cute, actually. It means that this," he tapped Alec's mouth, "is all mine." Alec gulped as Magnus's voice dropped. "Isn't it."

"Yeah," Alec breathed. Magnus smiled lazily and sat back in his seat.

"Good."

"Jesus Christ, Ragnor! Don't you have your own home?"

Ragnor sat up from Magnus's couch to see the penthouse owner himself accompanied by someone blue-eyed, black-haired, delicious, and familiar. Chairman Meow hissed a protest as Ragnor lifted him off his chest and onto his lap.

"You brought him home with you, Magnus? The day has finally come!"

Magnus glared as Alec hitched his shoulders uncomfortably. "Yes, and the plan did not involve _you _being here."

"I just wanted to hear how my bestie's day was," Ragnor said innocently. "And indecently, this cat and I are soul mates."

Magnus almost put his face in his hands, but figured he should hold strong and kick Ragnor out of his house on his behind, if only for Alec's sake. "First, Chairman Meow is no one's soul mate but my own, and our wedding has already been planned. Second, _get out of my fucking house before I throw you out the window_."

Ragnor ignored the second part and looked mournfully at the tiny white cat on his lap. "Chairman, I think Magnus is cheating on you," he said somberly. "Although that's really all very well and good, because you're cheating on him, too." Chairman purred agreeably.

"Ragnor," Magnus said slowly. "There are two very sexy, amazing people in this room who want to be left alone. There is one annoying boy with a cat on his chest who is not wanted here. Do you know what that means?"

"I should leave now before you kick my ass and dye all my clothes pink," Ragnor recited in a drone.

"Exactly."

"Can I bring your cat with me?"

"Don't you bloody dare."

Ragnor sighed and stood, dumping Chairman unceremoniously to the floor. The cat hissed and spat disgustedly. "You're no fun. But I'll leave you two be, I suppose. Although, Magnus, if you don't spill later, I will steal your contacts and dump your clothes into a vat of tie-dye."

"You wouldn't dare," Magnus said slowly.

"Just watch me."

"Out!"

Ragnor left, finally, leaving Magnus standing in the middle of his apartment with Alec still near the door. "C'mere," Magnus said, holding out a hand. "Sorry about Ragnor," he added as Alec stepped closer and let himself be pulled onto the couch next to his... boyfriend? "He's always like that. Gossip queen of the school, I swear."

"Does he barge into your house often?" Alec asked as Magnus folded his arms around him, practically spooning on the couch.

"Well, he stole my key, so yes, he does." Magnus sounded resigned rather than annoyed. "He sort of hates his family, but don't tell him I told you that. He insists they're not so bad, but…." Alec felt Magnus shake his head behind him. "I know what a bad family looks like."

Speaking of family…. "Oh shit!" Alec yelped, sitting bolt upright.

"What's wrong?" Magnus asked, surprised. "Are you okay?"

"My parents!" Alec couldn't believe he'd forgotten. "They're getting back tomorrow and I'm supposed to be in charge and—"

"What time tomorrow?"Magnus cut him off.

"Noon."

Magnus relaxed back onto the couch. "Oh. Then you can stay here a while."

"Magnus—" Alec glanced down at Magnus's form sprawled out on the couch. "I don't know. I'm supposed to be taking care of Izzy and Max."

"Isn't Jace there?"

"Yes, and Jace is the picture of responsibility." But it was so tempting….

"Come on, Alec," Magnus pleaded, opening his arms. "I have Netflix. We can watch Bones and cuddle and engage in illicit behavior."

Alec fought with himself for a moment more before giving in and settling back down on the couch. "I won't forget this, you know," he said. He wanted to sink down and wrap himself in Magnus's arms and kiss until the sun came up tomorrow. But then, he wasn't really comfortable with that, either. One or two kisses did not mean that they could just act like that, even if that was the way it happened in so many books and movies. He was still awkward, uncomfortable Alec, dazzled by Magnus's light. Magnus, clearly, only picked up on the first part of this thought, and tugged Alec down to lie next to him again.

"Oh, I should hope not," Magnus purred.

A/N: Mwahahahaha! I hope you liked! I thought this was fun. Even if the kiss in the movie theater was horribly clichéd. Still. Please review! Reviews make my day! LOVE

K


	20. Blue and Gold Car

A/N: Wow, 200 reviews? Amazing! Thank you guys!

So I had to delete this chapter and start over again, so this was supposed to be up days ago. I'm sorry! It was just all OOC and bad. So I'm trying again.

As per usual, Alec's writing is in **bold**. Magnus is in _italics_.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly.

"My parents are home," Alec said glumly. The din in the cafeteria was slightly less today; a bunch of people were out sick, probably a result of one too many parties and a flu sweeping the city.

"You mentioned they were coming home," Magnus commented, popping a French fry into his mouth.

"Did you steal that?" Alec asked suspiciously.

"I would never." Magnus smiled benevolently. "So is this a bad thing?"

"You stealing my fries? Yes. I'm hungry."

"No, silly. Your parents being home."

"Oh." Alec slumped a little. "I don't know. No. Kind of." He slapped Magnus's hand creeping towards his plate. "Those are mine!"

"Greedy," Magnus teased. "So why kind of bad?"

"Hungry. I love my parents," Alec said. "They're just… kind of intense. They're hard to please."

"And they don't know you're gay."

"No." Alec's face twisted. "They don't." He picked apart a fry until Magnus grabbed his hand. "It's fine," Alec said. "They'll be leaving again next week anyways."

"So soon?" Magnus asked. "What for?"

"Another 'business' trip. They work in international law enforcement, kind of. Like police, but cooler, and not dedicated to a particular country. I'm not totally sure how it works." Alec grimaced again. "They're leaving Max behind this time, but still. I wish they weren't gone so much."

"I thought you didn't like it when they're here," Magnus said, confused.

"I don't know what I think." Alec sighed. "So what about _you_? Why don't you live with your parents?"

"My father tried to drown me when I was twelve." Magnus's voice was flat. Alec stared for a moment.

"Oh. God, I'm sorry." Alec was reeling, in truth. Cheerful, kick-butt Magnus had been abused as a kid? Alec couldn't imagine Magnus being pushed around, even by a full-grown man, ever.

Magnus smiled faintly. "For what? It wasn't your fault."

"I shouldn't have pried." He felt guilty for even bringing up the subject.

Magnus shook his head. "It's fine. I lived with my aunt and uncle for a while. Got out of there as fast as I could."

"Did you not like them?" Alec asked, curiosity getting the better of him again.

"Oh, no they were lovely. I just couldn't deal with not being the only drama queen in the house." Magnus winked, bringing back a lighthearted mood, and Alec laughed in spite of himself.

The bell rang loudly, signaling the end of lunch. "I'll see you in math," Alec sighed.

Magnus grinned. "See you around, Blue Eyes."

Alec blushed and ducked his head as they parted ways. Maybe he didn't know what to do about his parents or Magnus's, but around Magnus, he always knew what he wanted. It was a nice change. Jace still confused him. With Magnus, Alec felt happy, fulfilled, requited. With Jace, he felt a bit like a hanger-on, like he was assuming a role that didn't belong to him. It was puzzling, and annoying. Very annoying. But Magnus was good. Very good.

**Are you coming over today?**

Alec passed the note to Magnus during math class, still looking up at the board as if his hand wasn't moving over to the other boy's desk and dropping the paper. Ms. D didn't notice.

Magnus passed the note back a few moments later. Alec unfolded it.

_Aren't your parents home? _

**I am allowed to have friends over, you know**.

_Mmm, then I guess I'm out of the picture. _

**What are you if you're not my friend first then everything else second?**

_I kind of resent that me dating you comes second in this scenario. _

Alec bit his lip and tried not to laugh. **Well as far as my parents are concerned, it's much better that way. As far as I'm concerned, it's all equal. **

_Equal?_

**With maybe a slight emphasis on the dating side. **

_:-)_

Magnus realized with a bit of a shock that Alec was flirting with him. The teasing notes were a bit out of character, but, he realized, very, very cute. The note was slid back onto his desk.

**So? Are you coming?**

_I'll even drive you home if you want. _

**I think Jace and Izzy need a ride though, and someone has to pick up Max. **

Magnus sighed slightly. _Can't Isabelle drive?_

**She can, I'm just scared to let her. **

_Ok, then I'll meet you at your house after school. She a bad driver?_

**Okay****, I'll see you there :) Terrible.**

_Does it bug you that I spell it __ok__? _

**It's spelled wrong, so kinda.**** Okay****. **

_Lol, you're so cute. Ok?_

**Okay! **

_Mmmmm :) stop biting your lip. It makes me want to._

The bell rang then, so Magnus didn't get a reply. But it was worth it to see Alec roll his eyes and bite back a smile.

Alec sent his sister and brothers inside and sat on the front steps of the house, shivering slightly. The October wind was chilly and clouds covered up the sun. He hadn't bothered with a jacket, figuring that it couldn't be too cold before it was even Halloween. It was something he did every year, and he was proven wrong every single time. It was always cold in October and he knew it; he just kept holding out for a warmer fall. Alec hated the cold.

A bright yellow car pulled up outside the house only a few minutes later. Magnus stepped out in all his glittery glory. Alec waved and stood, and Magnus gracefully ascended the steps to meet him. He looked like a movie star making an entrance, just like he always did.

"So, you want to hang out in my room?" Alec asked.

"Of course," Magnus said teasingly. "Always."

Alec opened the front door and led Magnus inside. What he didn't expect was his mom sitting on the couch in the living room. He had thought she would be in her office, writing up reports, but there she was, looking up at the two of them as they entered.

"Oh, Mom," he said, startled. "Hi."

"Hello, honey. Who is this?" She gestured to Magnus.

"Uh, this is my friend Magnus Bane. Magnus, this is my mom."

Magnus held out his hand to shake hers, but his manners didn't lessen the shock of his appearance. He wore black skinny jeans and knee-high black boots. His neon-green tank-top was covered with a layer of fishnet, and his wrist was still wrapped in the black and silver bandage. The ensemble was topped off with thick black eyeliner covered in silvery glitter, and spikey, sparkly hair. At least he had left off the blue lipstick he owned. Alec had barely even noticed his clothes; it wasn't something he paid a lot of attention to, and Magnus wore outlandish outfits every day. Maryse Lightwood, however, definitely noticed what her son's new friend was wearing. She gave him the once-over, eyes slightly narrowed. Alec fidgeted uncomfortably, but Magnus just gave her his million-watt smile and released her hand.

"Lovely to meet you," she said at last.

"You too, Mrs. Lightwood," Magnus replied.

"Uh, we have some homework to do," Alec said to his mom. "We should probably get started."

"Of course, Alec. Don't eat any of the chicken; it's for dinner."

"Okay, Mom."

Alec fled as nonchalantly as he could, Magnus in tow.

"I understand why you're only sort of happy your parents are home," Magnus commented when they were safely in Alec's room. "She's scary."

"You're telling me," Alec said. "So what do you want to do?"

Magnus wasn't paying attention. He had knelt to the floor and picked something up from underneath Alec's bed. "Is this yours?"

"What?" Alec looked at the object in Magnus's fingers, sitting down on the bed. It was a race car toy, the red and black one, all beat up now. "Yeah," he said slowly, taking it from Magnus's outstretched hand. "It was my favorite when I was a kid. Why?"

Magnus sat next to him. "Do you have a blue and gold one, too?"

Alec glanced at him, startled. "I used to. I lost it a few years ago. How do you know that?"

"Did you use to go to the park near the elementary school on Wednesday afternoons?"

"Yes... When I was really little, like five or six. What is it?"

"I remember you!"

"What?" Alec was a little lost by this point.

"Don't you remember? We used to play cars in the sandbox, and I would always try and take one until you made me give it back. I kept one. I still have it."

"_Mage?_" Alec couldn't believe it.

"The one and only!"

"No way," Alec said. "That was you?" He remembered Mage. He was a too thin, shaggy haired seven-year-old. He would never tell Alec his real name. Alec just remembered playing out love stories with cars and tackling the older boy to gain his favorite possessions back. "No way."

"Oh my god! This is insane!"

They both started laughing. "No way!" Alec chortled again. "That is so crazy!" He couldn't help himself; he bowled Magnus over with a bear hug, feeling like he'd just found one of his favorite toys buried in the back of his closet. Magnus kept laughing.

"I think it's kind of classic, actually," Magnus grinned at him when they pulled apart. "Childhood friends become high-school sweethearts? Everyone knows that story."

Alec shook his head, grinning. "I can't believe that you are Mage. And you still have my car? The blue and gold one? Thief!"

Magnus snickered. "It's still on my desk, right next to the picture of my cousin and me and my first fashion design award."

Alec laughed again, and kissed him.

A/N: So this is DEFINITELY not a cannon story, but you must have figured that out by now. I thought it was cute, anyways. Did anyone else think Alec was a little OOC? I don't know. Please review! More real plot coming soon, instead of pure fluff. I like fluff, okay? Deal. LOVE

K


	21. Serial

A/N: I am UNBELIEVABLY sorry this took so long! I can't believe I've neglected this story for so many weeks. Please forgive me! And prepare for some non-fluff, coming your way.

MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI MI

Alec's parents left and came home again, Alec and Magnus kissed and held hands and wondered how far they could go, and October came on with a vengeance and a flurry of costume shopping and leaves. Alec told Magnus very firmly that he did not want to go trick-or-treating over Halloween, but Magnus ignored this and kept searching for the perfect clothes for the occasion. But a week before the holiday, something happened that made Alec really, really not want to go trick-or-treating, with Magnus or anyone else.

His parents were gone again, somewhere in Asia. They had said something about a lost Buddha, but Alec didn't think he had really understood. The more important thing blared over dinner on TV. Magnus was over, again, mostly because he was a terrible cook and Jace was decent, and he claimed that he didn't spend enough time with Alec. Isabelle was not allowed near the kitchen after Max got sick enough to scare them all half to death. The TV was almost always on for one reason or another; Jace and Isabelle were both completely obsessed with various shows, as was Magnus. This time, it was the news only because Alec got very sick of iCarly and switched the channel.

"In top news, a recently convicted serial killer, Hodge Starkweather, was missing this morning from his cell block and is now presumed on the loose." A picture flashed across the screen. "If you see Starkweather, contact authorities immediately."

Four mouths dropped open. Four forks dropped to the table. Four faces turned to each other, and three mouths said, "Shit." One said, "Guys, I'm scared."

Magnus looked at the four Lightwoods in bemusement. "What's going on?"

Max burst into tears.

In the time it took Isabelle and Jace to calm Max down, Alec and Magnus escaped to Alec's room, where the former sat on the bed, looking white and stunned.

"What the hell is going on, Alec?" Magnus asked frantically. "I know there was something on the news about a convict or something, but **why the hell do you look like you're about to pass out**?"

"I'm a dead man, Magnus," Alec said. "And I really don't want to die a virgin."

"And I am totally down with that," Magnus replied. "Now explain!"

Alec looked up at him. "Okay... It was last year, when we still were at school at the Institute."

^Flashback^

Jace cracked up as he and Alec left their history class at the Institute, joining the flood of other students in the hallway.

"I can't believe Hodge gave you detention," Jace chortled. "He loves you!"

"It was your fault," Alec grumbled. "You always get me in trouble."

Jace waved this away dismissively. "So should I get a ride home with someone else, then?" he asked.

"Or you could just wait for me to drive you home." Alec rolled his eyes.

"We'll see." Jace said. "Gotta go, see you after school!" Alec waved to his brother as he disappeared into the crowd.

After the final bell rang, Alec dragged his feet into Hodge's classroom. He had never actually gotten detention before, and he wasn't looking forward to it, even from his favorite teacher.

The room was empty when he arrived. Hodge was evidently not back from the library, where he always went during the last period of the day. Alec was about to sit down in the seat he usually took during class when something on Hodge's desk caught his eye. Glancing furtively at the door behind him and feeling slightly guilty, like he was spying, Alec stepped over to the desk and picked up the object.

It was a picture. It was a picture Alec recognized. It was a picture of **him**. Alec stared at it. What the hell was his history teacher doing with Maryse Lightwood's favorite picture of Alec? It made absolutely no sense. Alec opened the desk drawer. Maybe there, he would find an explanation. He needed one desperately.

The inside of the drawer was pristine. Only one item rested there: a scrapbook. Well, that wasn't so weird. Lots of people made scrapbooks. It was probably full of pictures of Hodge's family and places he had been. But for some reason that had to do with the photograph on the desk, Alec didn't think so. He opened it.

Then he tried not to slam it shut. He stared at it, wide-eyed, and smothered a scream.

The book was impeccably organized, but Alec knew what it was from the first picture he saw.

The first two pages, adjacent so everything could be seen without turning a page, were dedicated to pictures of Bobby Redford, a kid a few years older than Alec who had gone missing when Alec was a freshman. The picture at the top left was Bobby's school photo. Dark hair, perfect complexion, strange, pale eyes and a laughing mouth. The others were stalker photos. Pictures of him at the library, studying. Pictures of him hanging out with his friends. Pictures of him unlocking the front door of his house, eating lunch, buying a CD. Under the school photo was a printed, small version of Bobby's report card- straight A's.

The picture at the bottom right corner of the second page was what brought it all together. It was Bobby. His feet were tied, his mouth duct-taped. His eyes were open, but unseeing. His wrists were slashed, and blood ran onto a concrete floor.

The next page was a boy Alec didn't know. He, too, was dark-haired and thin. His shoulder's slouched and his head hung. His report card was also straight A's. His last photograph was the same.

The third boy was Logan Carlson, who had been in Alec's physics class. The fourth, Kenny Osmond. Each page mirrored the others.

Alec kept flipping through the book. He couldn't stop. His stomach was clenched too tight, his mouth dry, his hands shaky. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, but there it was. This was Hodge's desk, Hodge's book, Hodge's victims. Fifteen smiling, laughing, dark-haired, clever dead boys adorned the paper.

Then-

Alec's own face grinned up at him next to his perfect report card. There he was on new year's with Izzy and Jace. Here, in the pool during a swim meet. Studying. Driving home from school. Uncomfortable and awkward at the homecoming dance. Typing on the computer. Doing homework. In the library. At lunch. Dozing during class. Yelling at Jace. It was a blur of Alec, except for a small, blank white square at the bottom right hand corner.

His heart stopped.

"Well, well, well, Mr. Lightwood. Poking where you shouldn't be?"

Alec spun, biting back a panicked yell. The scrapbook crashed to the floor. Hodge chuckled and shut and locked the classroom door behind him.

"How very entertaining. It was always Jace who pried into everyone else's business. I underestimated you."

Alec couldn't move or speak. His legs were frozen. **Run, goddammit! **his mind shouted at him. But where to? The door was locked. There were no windows. And a knife flashed in his teacher's hand. Alec may have done martial arts when he was little, but he hadn't practiced in years and he was no match for a crazy serial killer with a blade. He backed up, slow and way past scared. His hand scrambled behind him for something he could use on Hodge's bookcase, anything. A key ring slipped into his fingers. Keys. Perfect. Well, as perfect as anything could be at that point. Hodge was still approaching. he was only a few feet away. Alec sidled away from the desk. He didn't want to be caught behind it if Hodge wanted to trap him.

For all his terror, Alec was remarkably calm after he got over his initial freeze response. Oddly, Hodge's voice, instead of captivating and snaring him, motivated him. He could imagine Hodge's other victims falling prey to that voice, and Alec was not one who was willing to run with the crowd. Not on this one, anyways. Hodge took another step forwards, and Alec tensed. One more step, and he would be close enough... Alec lunged.

Somehow, **somehow**, he had forgotten the knife. How could he forget the knife? But Alec was young and athletic and frantic, and Hodge was old and slow. Alec didn't even feel the slash to his chest until the keys in his hand drew bloody tracks across his teacher's face. Then he punched, kicked, and ultimately fought dirty to get himself free.

The door burst open just as Alec managed to shove Hodge off him and step back, clutching the keys. There was Jace, looking regal and angelic and royally pissed off as he stomped over to Alec. And behind him... police. Probably an entire squad of police poured into the room. Two of them practically pounced on Hodge and roughly handcuffed him. Alec swayed on the spot.

"He tried to kill me," he whispered.

"Alec, you're bleeding," Jace said. Alec looked down. Sure enough, a gash in his shirt showed the bloody laceration across his chest. It wasn't too deep, but it bled freely. Alec lifted his hand to touch it and found that his hand, too, had been cut. He stared down at himself as Jace's face twisted in anger.

"How did they know?" Alec asked, his voice shaky. "The police. How did they know to come?"

"Tip-off, I think," Jace replied. "I heard yelling just before they got here."

"You were waiting for me?"

Jace grinned. "Couldn't find another ride home. Lucky you, I guess."

"Yeah," Alec said. "Lucky me."

^End Flashback^

A/N: Whoo-hoo! First time I've written something like that. It was fun! I hope you're not mad because it's short and I was gone a long time, but sorry! I think you've figured out by now that this story isn't exactly cannon. I hope you like it anyways and let me know what you think! So, review!

LOVE

K


	22. Good Instincts

A/N: Sorry it's been so long guys! School's been a load. Unfortunately, NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) starts in November so chances of me updating in November at all are slim. Sorry, but this story will be on temporary hiatus until December. Thanks for all the great reviews!

Magnus's head dropped into his hands. "Good lord," he muttered.

"You're telling me." Alec laughed humorlessly.

Magnus looked up. "All right. So your parents are away, you've got a serial killer after you, and he probably knows where you live."

"Sounds about right," Alec said.

"I want you to stay with me until he's caught."

Alec stared, but Magnus was dead serious. "What?"

"I want you to stay at my place until you're safe."

"Magnus—" Alec stopped. "I have school, you know. And I fought him off once before."

Magnus shook his head. "I will not take any chances with you. Not with the kids at school, not with Sebastian, and certainly not with Hodge."

"I've survived all of them so far," Alec pointed out, trying to sound chill.

"_So far_." Magnus nodded. "Please, Alec."

"What about Izzy and Jace and Max?" Alec asked. "He'll probably come here no matter what. And if I'm not here, what will he do to them?"

"They'll figure it out."

"And I won't?" Didn't Magnus care about Alec's siblings at all? Or did he think Alec stupid?

As if he could read Alec's mind, Magnus shook his head. "I don't not care about them," he said. "But I care about you more, and they're smart. You are too, but you're also the one he's after. I don't think—"

The door swung open, and Isabelle stepped inside, Jace behind her. "Talking about what to do?" Isabelle asked.

Alec and Magnus nodded. "I want Alec to stay with me for a while," Magnus said without preamble. Alec looked down and picked at the blanket on his bed.

"I think you should, Alec." Alec looked up, startled. Isabelle was as serious as Magnus.

Alec glanced at Jace, lounging in the corner. Only the pucker between his eyebrows gave away his worry; other than that, he looked for all the world like everyone was discussing the scores of a team he didn't care about. "Do what you want," he said nonchalantly.

Isabelle rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Why did you even come with me if you weren't going to say anything?" she asked, and turned to Alec, her expression softening. "We're not totally defenseless without you, Alec," she pointed out. "And someone is less likely to get hurt if you aren't here. Hodge doesn't care about us."

Alec grimaced, thinking. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend more time with Magnus, because no time with Magnus was ever enough. And it wasn't that he didn't think that Isabelle and Jace could take care of themselves and Max. But it made him feel incompetent and weak to hide while a murderer staked out his family. He didn't want to be the one who didn't do a thing while everyone else rounded up the bad guy. And what if he led Hodge to Magnus? Alec would never forgive himself if Magnus got hurt. And, serious concerns aside, he would be spending the _night_ with Magnus? The thought almost made him squeak. There were definitely things he was not ready for in any relationship, no matter how close they were. And besides, could he seriously walk away with Jace there, practically daring him to go? Jace would never walk away from a challenge. Sometimes, Alec felt like the little brother, looking up to Jace for what to do, instead of the other way around.

"Go, Alec," Isabelle repeated. "I'm serious." She glanced at Jace. "Back me up here, would you?"

"Alec doesn't need my input," Jace said lazily. "His instincts are good enough." It was the closest thing to a compliment Alec thought he had ever gotten from Jace, and it made his cheeks color slightly. Magnus, thankfully, didn't notice.

Silence fell for a moment as everyone looked at Alec. His mouth twisted with thought. "All right," he finally said, mostly to stop the stares. "But only until Mom and Dad get home, and if anything happens that makes me think anyone might be in trouble, I'm coming right back home."

"Deal," Magnus said immediately, relieved. He drew Alec into his arms, Alec's face pressed against his sweet-smelling chest. "Thank you," he whispered.

"I'm leaving before this turns into some kind of love-fest," Jace said, sounding a bit annoyed, and Isabelle murmured something, and the door slammed shut.

"Seriously," Magnus said, pulling back to look Alec in the eyes. "Thank you."

Alec grinned slightly. "Let's go before I start to regret this."

Magnus smiled too, and they got to work getting a bag ready for Alec.

Magnus's apartment looked exactly how Alec remembered it, lighter with the sun still peaking over the horizon. The bright blue couches were strewn with clothes now, though, and a growling sound and an acrid smell poured out of the kitchen.

"What's that?" he asked, looking toward the doorway curiously.

"Ah, damn," Magnus said. "I must've left my coffee maker on." He grimaced. "Make yourself comfortable," he said over his shoulder, heading into the kitchen. "This'll only take a minute. Do you want anything"

"No, I'm fine," Alec called back, settling awkwardly onto the sofa. The plush cushion practically swallowed him before he had the chance to balance himself.

The TV was already on—Alec would have bet that Magnus never turned it off—but it was muted, so the picture of a man and woman sitting in a café and looking tense said very little to him. He couldn't find the remote, so he simply sat there and listened to clanking and some faint swears coming from the next room.

Alec didn't notice Chairman Meow creeping up to the sofa for a few moments. When he did, he held out his hand, which the cat hissed at.

"Come on, you know me," Alec said softly. He wasn't sure he wanted Magnus to know he was talking to a cat. "Hush, and say hello."

"Meooow," Chairman said. Alec grinned. Chairman was a very vocal cat when he wanted to be, which Alec had figured out on previous visits. He was also pompous, snobby, and extremely cute.

"See, you do know me." Alec smiled.

Chairman nuzzled his hand, and, apparently approving, jumped up onto Alec's lap. "Mrow." Alec pet him absently, watching the couple on the screen chat it up some more, then dodge bullets through the café window. It would probably be a lot less glamorous to actually dodge bullets, he thought, and a lot harder, too. And no one's hair would look nearly as perfect after said dodging as the show's stars did, except maybe Jace's.

Magnus finally emerged from the kitchen, hair mussed and soot on his face. "I conquered it!" he declared. "That coffee machine didn't get the best of me!"

Alec laughed, forgetting momentarily all his issues. Magnus was so perfect. If Alec wrote poetry, he would have said something about a summer breeze, or sunshine, or a panther, but as it was, perfect was the closest word he could think of. Alec stood, making Chairman Meow protest loudly at his sudden displacement. "I always knew you could defeat the evil powers of coffee," he chuckled.

"That coffee machine bitterly regretted taking me on!" Magnus said. "Geddit? _Bitterly_?"

Alec rolled his eyes and let Magnus take his hands. "You're terrible."

"And by that, I assume you mean wonderful."

"Of course."

Magnus sat down on the sofa, pulling Alec with him onto his lap. "You're pretty wonderful yourself. And I don't care if some dickhead bastard murderer thinks he can take you away, because he so can't. I promise."

"Yeah right," Alec said. "We'd kick his ass."

"That's what I love about you," Magnus whispered in Alec's ear. "Your unwavering confidence in us." Then, he turned Alec's head delicately with a finger under his chin and kissed him. "Among other things," he added against Alec's mouth. Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus's neck and pulled him close, effectively ending the conversation.

A/N: So I hope you enjoyed! I'm really sorry if this sounded choppy or OOC; I didn't have any time to proofread. Please review, and thanks for reading! See you all in December! LOVE

K


	23. Cell Phones, unlike ipods, are just evil

A/N: So I received a bit of a shock when I looked at my story page and saw that I had nearly 250 reviews! Wow! You guys are seriously the best. I'm sorry this is a bit overdue, but as I said, I took November off for NaNoWriMo, and I got caught up in finals (ew) earlier this month. If anyone is still reading this, enjoy!

"You can take my room," Magnus told Alec later after they had reluctantly ended their make-out session when Alec pointed out that they did have school the next day and it was getting late.

Alec drew back slightly from his place with Magnus's arms wrapped around him on the couch. "No, that's okay," he insisted, surprised.

"Seriously, take the bed," Magnus replied.

Alec shook his head. "It's your bed. I'm just a guest. I can sleep here."

Magnus's sigh sounded slightly exasperated. "I wasn't planning on taking the couch," he emphasized. Alec looked at him, confused.

"Huh?"

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Alec, seriously." He stifled a chuckle. "Please, sleep in my room." He gave Alec a meaningful look.

Alec stared at him blankly for a moment before his eyes widened. "Ooh," he said. Magnus sighed in relief. Alec could be so clueless sometimes. "Um…." Alec bit his lip. "We should actually probably sleep, you know?" It came out as a question. "School and stuff."

Magnus smiled and kissed Alec's nose. "I promise not to seduce you," he said solemnly.

"Too late," Alec muttered, but let himself be pulled to his feet and led to Magnus's room.

He had been in Magnus's room before, but only briefly, usually just to grab something. Most of their 'illicit' behavior had been confined to the couch and for the time being, Alec was quite happy to keep it that way. But Magnus's grip on his wrist was reassuring instead of demanding, and his room was a comforting splash of colors and plushy chairs. Magnus gave Alec's wrist a comforting squeeze before releasing him.

"I'm going to go change," he told Alec, yanking something out of his bright orange dresser in the corner, which clashed in an impossibly chic way with his glaringly neon green bedspread. Alec nodded in agreement and pulled his own pajamas out of his bag, which Magnus must have put in the room earlier. Magnus disappeared into what Alec presumed was the bathroom and Alec shrugged hastily out of his clothes and into the baggy sweats and t-shirt he had brought to sleep in. Then, he sat on the king-sized bed and took in his surroundings as he waited for Magnus to return.

He supposed that the only way all the contrasting colors in the room didn't look absolutely horrible was that there were simply so many of them. A purple desk overflowing with papers, pictures, and trinkets sat next to the orange dresser and a set of bright yellow closet doors. Alec was pretty sure that the walls were painted sky blue, but so many posters of various musical groups had been plastered over them that it was difficult to tell. Several cushy chairs in glaringly neon colors were arranged next to each other to form a sort of couch/reading corner, although Alec doubted that Magnus really did a lot of reading. Overall, the effect was that of having been thrust into a rainbow in the middle of Times Square.

Magnus returned a few moments later in plain cotton pajama bottoms and a skin-tight tank top that made Alec blush slightly. Magnus's face was washed clean and his hair hung pin-straight instead of spiked. He actually looked almost human as Alec stood automatically to greet him. Magnus wrinkled his nose.

"I forgot the downside of this little arrangement," he admitted as he stepped toward the bed and Alec.

"Downside?" Alec asked, confused.

"You have to see me without my makeup," Magnus explained.

Alec raised his eyebrows, then laughed slightly. "You're so weird," he said. When Magnus gave him a hurt look, he added, "You look amazing all the time. A serial killer is chasing me, I'm invading your house, it's eleven at night, and you still look incredible. I have no idea how I got landed with you."

Magnus shook his head, but a smile quirked the corners of his mouth. "You're just humoring me."

"Not," Alec insisted. He reached up and brushed Magnus's hair out of his face, shyly letting his fingertips drag along Magnus's cheek. "I can actually touch you without being afraid of ruining your makeup."

Magnus caught his wrist and smirked. "You would be thinking about that."

"No," Alec corrected, "but you would." Magnus laughed in consent. For a second, Alec wondered how they had gotten from panicked out of their minds to relaxed and happy in the space of one evening, but he brushed the thought aside when Magnus's hands twined in his hair. There would be plenty of time to freak out in the morning, he thought as he fell onto the bed. For now, he could just focus on Magnus.

Alec's eyelids fluttered when a blaring sounded from next to the bed, but he ignored the noise in favor of turning his face into the warmest thing near him, which happened to be Magnus's neck. Magnus groaned, sending vibrations through Alec, who blatantly refused to stir.

"Time to get up," Magnus muttered, shifting under Alec, who protested with a moan of his own and pressed closer to his boyfriend.

"What time is it?" Alec asked, words slurred from sleep.

"Six," Magnus replied, sighing.

Alec relaxed. "Why are you even awake? We've got another half hour at least."

"I have to get ready," Magnus pointed out. "Do you know how long that takes?"

"Wake me up in half an hour," Alec told him. His eyes were already closing as he sank back into the pillows. Magnus shook his head and extricated himself reluctantly from the tangle of blankets and limbs and headed for the bathroom, yawning. Alec was already asleep again when the shower started running.

It took Alec thirty-eight whole minutes to freak out about everything going on, and that was because Magnus woke him up thirty-seven minutes after he Magnus himself had gotten up. Then, Alec quietly panicked as he dragged himself into a two minute shower, dressed, and emerged to find Magnus munching on cereal with a cup of something far too sugary to be real coffee next to his bowl.

"Breakfast?" Magnus asked, holding the box of what looked like small cardboard squares coated in sugar out to Alec.

Alec wrinkled his nose, feeling slightly queasy. "No thanks," he said. "I'm not hungry."

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Magnus told him.

"Lunch is," Alec countered.

"Without breakfast, how can you get a good start to your day?" Magnus asked.

"I'm never hungry in the morning. At lunch, you've worked some so you need to renew your energy to continue on with your day. Plus, you get time to socialize."

Magnus shrugged. "Whatever you say, sweetheart. Take something along at least, would you?"

"Are you my mother" Alec asked. "I never eat breakfast."

Magnus gave him a stern look. "Please?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll bring something. Although if I get assassinated, I suppose it won't matter whether or not I eat breakfast."

Magnus's expression turned from teasing to serious in a heartbeat. "You're not going to get killed," he said flatly. "Okay?"

Alec nodded, taking a deep breath. Suddenly, he felt uncomfortably vulnerable in his own skin. "Right."

"I'll stay with you until this guy is caught," Magnus vowed. "Even if I have to skip class."

Alec smiled bravely. "Magnus, you're failing biology." Magnus shrugged. "That won't be necessary, but thanks," he added.

"Just call, whenever you need me," Magnus said, his own mood still dark. "I'm serious, Alec. If you're even a little suspicious, call. I'm not taking chances with you."

"I will," Alec promised. "Now let's go. We're going to be late for school."

Alec didn't expect his phone to die, honestly. But there it was; the stress was climbing, and he had simply forgotten to charge it. Magnus had texted him almost thirty times already by fifth period, and again after lunch, asking if he was okay, and Alec had forgotten as well that he would be missing math class for a swim team profile meeting. Actually, he wasn't even sure if Magnus knew he was a swimmer. In any case, Alec spaced it, and the dread sank into his stomach as he realized exactly what Magnus would take his cyber silence to mean. He had been about to tell Maia to tell Magnus where he was when the swim captain came up to him and began rattling off everything that needed to get done, and Alec forgot about everything else.

In any case, by the time the final bell of the day rang and Alec raced out to Magnus's car, Magnus was flipped out, to say the least. When he saw Alec coming towards him, he simultaneously sagged in relief and tightened his jaw. Alec slid into the car quickly, bracing himself for the oncoming storm.

"Where were you in math?" Magnus's voice came out clipped and harsh. "And why haven't you texted me all day?"

"I'm sorry," Alec said meekly. "I had a swim meeting during math and my phone died."

Magnus let out a long breath, hands tight on the steering wheel as he turned sharply out of the parking lot. "Your phone died?" he snapped. "Do you know how worried I've been?" He didn't give Alec a chance to answer. "I thought you were _dead, _and you didn't bother to charge your phone?"

"Hey!" Alec protested at the unfairness. "I've got a lot on my plate, too. I'm sorry I spaced it!"

"What if Hodge really had gotten to you?" Magnus continued, barely giving Alec's statement a pause. The tires screeched as they neared his apartment. "You wouldn't have been able to call for help or anything." His nostrils flared. "How could you be so _stupid_, Alec?"

Alec hardly bothered to wait until Magnus had parked before slamming out of the car. He knew that Magnus was worried, but he was coming off as a bit of a jerk and Alec was stressed enough as it was. "Well why do you bother putting up with me if I'm such a moron, then?" he half-yelled back, temper fraying.

Magnus threw a set of keys at him. "Just go upstairs, would you?" he ordered harshly. "And don't do anything stupid like that again."

"Where are you going?" Alec asked accusingly.

"Out," Magnus snapped back. "I won't be back until late."

He wrenched the car door closed after himself and backed out too fast, making the tires squeal.

"Honestly!" Alec yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. Alec slammed into the building with Magnus's keys and ran up all twenty flights of stairs to blow off steam, then scared Chairman Meow out of his wits on the way into Magnus's flat. When had Magnus turned from his loving boyfriend into this controlling bitch?

A/N: Yay! Well, this took longer than anticipated, but I hope you enjoy. The fluff will return soon. I hope you enjoyed this, and please please please review!

LOVE

K


	24. Skipping and Swimming

A/N: I love the holidays, don't you? Thanks to the FEW people who reviewed! Well, I suppose I deserve it. I did take forever to update. Enjoy! My 'lover' Matt is being a bi—um what? Did I say that? MATT. Stop being a drama queen. You're ruining my story. LOVE!

I've also realized that my scene breaks don't work—something I'm sure has annoyed you for quite some time. This had better work.

(SCENE)

By the time Magnus finally dragged himself back to his flat, the moon had long since reached its peak and everything had begun to feel a bit fuzzy. The stairs swayed dizzily before him and he glowered at them sullenly before punching the elevator button hard, actually hitting his target on the third try. He stepped on when it beeped to a halt and closed his eyes as it ascended, leaning against the mirrored wall and trying not to fall over. He could barely form a coherent thought and realized fleetingly, before the thought got pulled down, that Alec had probably never seen him so drunk. It wasn't comforting. When the elevator dinged at last and the doors slid open, Magnus stumbled out, patting his pockets for his keys and finally locating them inside his jacket. It took him another five minutes to actually fit the key inside the lock and turn it to let himself into his flat, but he managed in the end, shoving his way through the door and shutting it with a bang before his slow brain caught up and he realized it was well after midnight on a school night, and Alec was probably asleep. _If he even came here_, Magnus's brain prompted unhelpfully. Magnus rubbed his eyes and kicked off his high boots with difficulty, then shuffled blearily over to the couch in preparation for his imminent collapse, only to attempt to abort the action at the last second, making him stumble ungracefully and half fall onto the body already sprawled out on the cushions.

A yell, a thump, a very confused Magnus, a squashed Chairman Meow, and a disgruntled Alec later, the Magnus found himself staring up at the ceiling with Chairman clawing at the carpet and his hair.

"What the—" Alec shook his head rapidly to clear it after his sudden displacement and raised himself on his elbows. Magnus, to his surprise, was flat on his back next to Alec, looking far more disoriented than the situation warranted. What had happened, anyways? Magnus mumbled something and Alec sat up, getting his bearings again. Magnus stayed on his back.

"Magnus?" Alec asked, a mixture of annoyance and confusion. "What's going on?"

"Fell," Magnus slurred, if you could slur a single word. "Trying to sit down."

"Trying to…." Alec cut himself off and stared suspiciously down at Magnus. "Are you drunk?"

"Drunk?" Magnus gave a mournful little laugh. "I don't get drunk." He tried to sit up. "But yes, I might be drunk."

"God, Magnus," Alec muttered. "It's a school night. Why the hell would you go out drinking?"

No one would ever, ever say that Magnus kept up boundaries when he was drunk. It would not be just a lie; it would be an abysmal, appalling bit of untruth so misleading as to turn Magnus's flat upside down. "You hate me now," he mourned. "I'm a bitch and you hate me because I yelled at you and I left and got drunk."

Alec stared at Magnus, whose head now rested in Alec's lap. Finally, Alec shook his head and sighed. "I'll get mad at you when you're sober enough to remember the conversation," he said, more to himself than to Magnus. "Come on, get to bed."

(SCENE)

The next morning, Magnus was pretty sure someone had attempted to break a block of concrete over his head. He had to force himself to open his eyes against his better judgment, squinting against the bright sunlight of the room. His alarm clock flashed in the corner—ten o'clock. Magnus winced; he had missed school, and he doubted Alec would be happy with him. He hadn't gotten drunk enough to forget all of yesterday afternoon. He turned his head to the left and noticed a sticky note stuck to the neon green lampshade of the light he kept on the table next to his bed. He pulled it off and slumped back onto his pillows. It took him a while before he was able to make the words stop dancing around the yellow paper long enough for him to read them.

_Magnus, _

_You were late and drunk so I figured you could sleep in, but don't think that excuse will work again. I took the car. Swim practice starts today so I won't be home until five thirty. I charged my phone. If I'm not back by six and I don't pick up, you can call the police. We'll talk later. _

_Alec _

The last sentence rang ominously in Magnus's mind as he collapsed backwards. Alec really was pissed at him, not surprisingly. Chairman Meow stalked into the room and jumped up on Magnus's chest, then proceeded to lick his face enthusiastically, making Magnus half laugh, half wince. "Crazy cat," he muttered. "I'm screwed."

(SCENE)

Alec rubbed his eyes tiredly before picking up his backpack and heading to lunch. After Magnus had come in, he hadn't gotten much sleep, but instead stayed awake thinking about everything. Alec knew that Magnus liked to drink, but he hadn't thought he would go get drunk on a school night, especially with Alec over. But then again, Alec hadn't thought Magnus would get mad at him like he had, either, and that hadn't turned out like Alec had expected.

Sighing at the complexity of it all, he dropped his books next to Isabelle's and sat down at the lunch table, hoping no one would ask….

"Where's Magnus?" Isabelle inquired. Alec sighed.

"He's, uh, sick." It was only kind of a lie. "He stayed home."

"Sick?" Clary, from next to Jace and across from Alec, leaned forward. "He was fine yesterday."

Alec shrugged and stuffed a sandwich in his mouth so he wouldn't have to reply.

"Is something wrong?" Isabelle asked softly, sounding confused. Alec shook his head, mouth still full of PB&J. Isabelle, recognizing that she would get nothing out of her brother, shrugged and turned away, deciding to save the interrogation for another time. Alec gratefully swallowed his sandwich and kept his mouth shut. All he needed was for Isabelle to get wrapped up in his relationship issues. He finished his meal in silence, the chatter of his siblings and friends fading to a dull buzz in the background.

(SCENE)

By three o'clock, Magnus was getting restless. His headache had faded and he was left with nothing to do except stress about Alec and watch endless cooking shows and soap operas, which he didn't enjoy in the slightest. Maybe coffee would make him feel better, he reflected to himself. School would just be getting out, but Alec wouldn't be back for another two or three hours, and Magnus was bored and worried. He needed something to clear his head and a cup of caffeine and sugar had never let him down before. With this idea rooted firmly in his mind, he pulled on a pair of ridiculously loose jeans (a.k.a. not skin-tight) and a bright purple jacket, slid his wallet into a pocket, donned the only slightly ankle-breakingly high boots by the front door, and headed out.

The coffee shop was halfway between school and Magnus's flat, about a ten minute walk. He stepped inside and breathed in the heavenly aroma of roasted coffee and baking pastries, thanking every possible deity for creating coffee. He ordered from a depressed-looking girl behind the counter, likely so dejected because of Magnus's horrifying mangling of the pronunciation of his drink. Magnus, however, ignored her despair and sipped out of the steaming cup, glad that even if food had been reduced to McDonald's and Burger King, coffee was still held in high esteem.

It was just after he had finished the last dregs of coffee that the face flashed across Magnus's vision, making him drop the cheap paper cup in shock. A second later, he realized that the man outside the window was not, in fact, Hodge, although he _was _stout and forbidding. Magnus forced his heart rate back down, calming himself. _False alarm_, he told himself. _Everything is fine._ He couldn't quite convince himself, though, and was seized with a sudden panic. He had told Alec that he wouldn't leave him alone, he remembered. But Alec was at school and Magnus wasn't, and Magnus had no real idea of whether or not Alec was okay. He stood rapidly, nearly knocking his chair over. Several people glanced around, then away again. Magnus tossed his cup into the trash can and pushed his way out of the shop, taking off at a half-run towards the school, quite the feat in high-heeled boots.

(SCENE)

Alec glided into the wall and came up for air, panting and shaking wet hair out of his face.

"God, I'm out of shape," one of the guys in his lane laughed.

"And that was just warm-up," Alec agreed. He stretched his arms out after pulling his goggles off his eyes.

"Listen up, gentlemen!" their coach called. The boys collectively stopped splashing around and turned towards the coach, a short, blond woman with a big temper and bigger voice. "Sixteen fifties, four of each stroke IM order, drill down, swim back, on the minute," she yelled to them. Alec groaned to himself. One fifty meant swimming down to the other end of the pool and back again. IM, or individual medley, gave the order of the strokes to swim: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. With four fifties of each stroke, Alec would be half dead before he was done with butterfly.

"It's the first day of practice!" one of the boys called back to the coach.

"Then get to it so it doesn't hurt next week, because it's only going to get harder from here. On the top!"

"You can lead, Alec," the same boy sighed. "This is going to suck."

Alec shrugged noncommittally. He hadn't worked out like he should have between swim seasons, but he would have to start again some time, and now was as good a time as any. When the second hand on the huge clock set up by the pool reached the sixty, or 'top' in swim terms, he pushed off the wall solidly, dolphin kicks propelling him forward until he broke the surface of the water and took his first stroke of fly in well over two months. _Ugh_. It was leaden, but Alec forced his body forwards, using his arms to thrust his momentum ahead. By the end of the first fifty, he was gasping for breath. By the end of the fourth, he was pretty sure he would never move again after leaving the water and actually having to support his own weight, and by the end of the entire set of sixteen, he could barely breathe, but he kept pushing, throwing all his irritation and worry and anger and stress and tension into the water until his muscles screamed in protest and the other boys fell behind as he swam with everything in him.

A/N: Happy winter solstice, ChrismaHanuKwanzaka, and New Year!

Yes, Alec is a swimmer. I think it suits him. Physically extremely strenuous, but not really a contact sport (unless you run into people…) since he is definitely not into violence like his siblings are. This was going to be longer, so sorry, but at least I know what's happening in the next chapter which is more than I can usually say. I'll try to update fast. PLEASE REVIEW! I know a lot of people have favorited and alerted this story and I'm really glad you like it—now tell me so I can have a confidence boost!

Happy holidays.

LOVE

K


	25. Overprotective

_A/N: I know, this took way too long, and I'm very sorry. Thank you ever so much for the many reviews. Enjoy!_

Magnus wasn't totally sure what he had expected when he walked into the pool area to find Alec. He hadn't ever actually been around a swim practice; most of his previous boyfriends had been too pretty for any sort of physical activity. As it was, he couldn't say he was too surprised. The boys churned the water into a frothing mess of chlorinated liquid, goggles flashing in the florescent lighting. Magnus, ignoring the coach, scanned the water for Alec. Of course, in goggles, faces hidden by the water and hair slick against their heads and dark with wetness, basically everyone looked the same to Magnus, but he kept looking. Alec was there somewhere.

Eventually, he spotted his boyfriend. He was in the lane closest to the door, that Magnus had entered through, gasping for breath as he gulped from a green water bottle. Magnus was about to start over to him when the coach's loud voice rang through the pool.

"Listen up!" she yelled, blond ponytail swinging. "We're doing a ladder!" Magnus had no idea what that meant, but he did understand the groans from over half of the boys. Alec, he noticed, hadn't made a sound, only looked intensely at his coach. "Fifty, one hundred, one hundred fifty, two hundred, then back down again," she yelled to the swimmers. "Twice through." She pointed to Alec's lane. "You'll be on the base of fifty seconds for a fifty." She moved to the next two lanes. "Base one minute." And the next two, "Base one ten." She walked back to her spot near the closest wall. "Go on the top!"

Magnus still had no clue what was going on, but he headed over for Alec, who looked as if he did. "Alec!" he called. Alec, startled, glanced over at him, but just then, another boy in Alec's lane yelled, "Alec, go!" and suddenly, Alec was underwater, inaccessible. Grimacing, Magnus waited by the water. Alec couldn't swim forever.

Sure enough, he stopped when he made it back to Magnus's end of the pool.

"Magnus?" he asked, glancing between the teen and the clock fixed to the wall. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you," Magnus began, but Alec let out a low huff of annoyance at the time he had actually had to swim, and pushed off the wall again. This time, he swam two laps before stopping, panting hard after he was done.

"I'm on an interval," he informed Magnus.

"Huh?" Magnus asked.

"I only have so long to swim a given amount, and then I have to go again," Alec elaborated. "Why are you here? I said we'd talk when I got back."

"I know, I just needed to see if—"

"Got to go." Alec pushed off the wall again. Magnus pursed his lips in irritation. Was swimming always like this?

When Alec stopped again, Magnus forced himself to focus and talk fast. It wasn't easy, seeing drops of water sliding down Alec's chest and face as his mouth opened to take in more air. Actually, it was insanely distracting.

"I just needed—" he began, but Alec cut him off.

"Did you _walk _here?"

"Yes," Magnus said, "but that isn't the point. Alec, I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you mad."

Alec narrowed his eyes. "Magnus, this isn't really the right time or place," he pointed out.

"Five seconds, Lightwood," someone called.

"I said we would talk later—"

"Alec, go!"

"I had to see you."

"Alec, you're missing the time!"

"Couldn't it _wait_?"

"No—"

"Lightwood!" the coach bellowed. "You missed your interval!"

"Damn," Alec muttered, and he was gone again. Magnus bit his lip in aggravation, reminding himself that it wasn't Alec's fault that this stupid sport had no time to rest and talk in between sets.

"Hey, you!"

It took Magnus a moment to realize that the coach was yelling to _him_. He turned to her, an eyebrow quirked in question.

"Would you mind dealing with your personal issues in your own time, _not during my practice_?" she asked.

Magnus saluted, trying to keep his natural sarcasm out of the gesture. "Sure thing," he said. _You accomplished what you came here to do_, he told himself sharply. _Now go sit down, relax, and wait for Alec to finish. Like he said, you'll talk later_. He took his own advice with bad grace, stalking over to the nearest chair and collapsing into it. He took in the roiling water and tried not to look at Alec's rippling muscles. It would only make it harder to talk to him later if he couldn't get Alec's insanely fit body out of his mind.

Alec almost never let Magnus see any more of his body than appropriate by school dress code, and not Magnus's version of school dress code, either, which included skin-tight clothes and bare-midriff shirts. Sure, if they were making out, Alec would let Magnus run a hand under his shirt and over his smooth back and hard abs, but Magnus had never actually seen Alec take his shirt off, and he had to say right then that the view was stunning. The shock of the ridiculous beauty of Alec's body was only amplified by the water soaking it and rolling down his skin. It was all Magnus could do not to drool like a thirteen year old boy confronted by a shirtless athlete. Alec truly was a work of art. Now all Magnus had to do was convince him to forgive him, because Alec was, understandably, looking pretty pissed off just then. Magnus couldn't exactly blame him.

(SCENE)

When swim practice finally finished, Magnus stretched, expecting Alec to shower and come home, but the blond coach shattered those hopes in a heartbeat. "Change for dryland, gentlemen," she yelled. "The sooner you dress out, the sooner you get to leave."

The team gave a collective groan and headed for the locker room. Magnus stopped Alec with a hand on his shoulder, standing.

"What's dryland?" he asked, hoping Alec wouldn't glare at him like he was probably aching to do.

The blank, apathetic look on Alec's face was worse "Workout," Alec said after a moment. "Pushups. Planks. Sit-ups. That sort of thing." He shrugged off Magnus's hand and walked away. Magnus watched him go, the water sliding off his skin as easily as Magnus's hand had been shaken from Alec's shoulder. Magnus tried not to wince, and resumed his seat in the chair.

(SCENE)

Alec didn't bother changing out of his swimsuit for dryland practice; he never did. It was always too awkward and uncomfortable for him. Instead, he toweled his body dry at top speed, then yanked on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and grabbed his shoes. He was out of the locker room before any of the other guys had even shaken out their towels, to his relief, until he realized that Magnus was still sitting out on the pool deck. He spent nearly a minute dallying at the door to the locker room, debating which was worse: coming outside and having to talk to Magnus, or staying in and having to deal with the other guys on the team, changing. In the end, he tentatively stepped out, then forcefully raised his chin, reminding himself that he wasn't a silly little girl who had done something wrong. He was a royally ticked-off boy who didn't want to talk to his boyfriend. What was wrong with that?

Alec stalked around to the other side of the pool, which had a flat expanse of tiled floor leading to the bleacher-like stairs that spectators typically sat on. He sat down, avoiding Magnus's gaze, which drilled into him from the other side of the pool. He pulled on his shoes, eyes down, and laced them slowly as he attempted to look like he wasn't a total idiot.

He tentatively looked up to see Magnus staring at him. Alec put on his pissed-off face. Magnus hopefully held his hands up in the shape of a heart, and Alec's eyes narrowed at the presumption. Alec copied the motion, then mimed an explosion in which the heart was ripped into little pieces. Magnus bit his lip, torn between wincing and laughing. Alec looked down again, still glaring.

Thankfully, the first of the other boys were out of the locker room moments later, joining Alec on the steps and Alec didn't have to act like he was looking away extremely obviously.

"Killer set today, huh?" one of the boys, Alec thought he was called Pete, asked.

"Only the first day," Alec replied noncommittally. "Have to keep in shape somehow."

Pete laughed. "Do you ever even get tired, Lightwood?"

Alec shrugged, but the coach started yelling before he could give a reply. "I want you to run these stairs up and down ten times, and if you walk, you'll be starting over." They got to work.

(SCENE)

Legs trembling, Alec picked up his swim bag after Coach had dismissed them. He was halfway over to the door that Magnus was sitting by when someone shoved past him. "Fun practice, Lightwood?" a sneering voice asked as the boy, a kid in Alec's English class named Bat, turned around, smirking.

"What?" Alec, too tired for any banter, snapped back.

"Did you just join the team to ogle at boys in swimsuits, fag?" Bat said. "Because you sure didn't come for your talent."

Alec wasn't sure how Magnus got there, but there he was. "Shut the hell up about Alec," he said smoothly. "He's faster than _you _were."

Alec rounded on Magnus. "Okay, one, I do _not _need your help, so back off before I get madder than I already am. B, no, two, I _told _you we would talk when I got back, so why are you even here? Three, or C, yes, Bat, I am a better swimmer than you, and four, or D, or that little iv thing they put in brackets for footnotes, if I was looking at any guys in swimsuits, you can rest assured that _you _were not one of them, and until you lose the flab and get some abs, you won't be."

He turned on his heel, leaving the kid gaping furiously after him and Magnus scampering to keep up.

"So…." Magnus began tentatively as the door swung shut behind them, "you mean that if he did have abs, you might be looking?"

"If it meant pissing you off, yeah, maybe," Alec said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, I deserved that," Magnus replied, recovering from this blow quickly. "But seriously, baby, can we talk?"

"I _said _we'd talk when I got back!" Alec snapped. "So I have to do everything you say, but that doesn't work in reverse?"

"I was worried—"

"I left a note saying exactly when I would be home and everything! Honestly, Magnus!"

Magnus slumped slightly. "Will you at least drive me home?" he asked, without much hope. He would be entirely unsurprised if Alec did make him walk, what with the mood he was in.

Alec's lips pursed and his eyes narrowed. Finally, he said, "Fine, but only because there's a serial killer on the loose. Otherwise, you could suck it up and walk."

Magnus hopped gratefully into the passenger seat. "Well, if there wasn't a serial killer on the loose, you probably wouldn't even be mad at me. So we can just blame everything on him, right?" he asked hopefully.

Alec's lips tightened again. "I don't think so. And don't think you're getting out of me being mad at you."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Magnus muttered, his dream of Alec coming to his senses and falling back in love with him exploding much like Alec had mimed earlier that day. The rest of the car ride was filled with stony silence on Alec's part and pained silence on Magnus's.

(SCENE)

Alec squealed into Magnus's parking lot, taking no care with the car Magnus cared for better than he cared for his precious cat.

"I'm going home," he said coldly.

"What?" Magnus asked, shocked. "Alec, wait, we have to talk about this!"

"I left my math textbook in my room."

"Alec, you said we'd talk!"

"Yeah, well if you would stop being such an overprotective jealous little bitch, maybe I'd be willing to talk to you!" Alec almost yelled back.

Shocked, Magnus reeled back, eyes wide. He stumbled out of the car without meaning to, but before he could drag Alec out, by force if necessary, the door had already been slammed shut and Alec had peeled away, fully aware that he had just stolen Magnus's car and probably his patience as well.

_A/N: Yes, angst, I know. It improves. Contrary to popular belief, I have a plan. Sort of. Part of the next chapter is already written, so hopefully it will be up soon. I'll try!_

LOVE

K


	26. Notes

A/N: This was so fast! Woot! Less of a filler, in my opinion. Enjoy, and thank you SO MUCH for the reviews!

(SCENE)

Magnus collapsed onto the couch. Alec was right. He was being a bitch. He just couldn't seem to stop. And now Alec had his car, his backpack, which, incidentally contained the textbook Alec needed, and every right to be mad at Magnus. When had their relationship turned into this? Fighting, yelling, stealing cars and tearing off into the murderer-infested darkness? It was absurd, and Magnus didn't know how to fix it.

It took him half an hour to come up with anything, and another two hours to get it all written down. By then, it was a little past eight o'clock, and Magnus rubbed his eyes tiredly, throwing down his pen. Carefully, he folded the piece of paper and wrote Alec's name on the outside of it, leaving it on the table. He could only hope Alec would come back tonight, since at least his clothes were still in the penthouse.

Magnus was too drained to do anything except crawl into bed, still fully clothed and with all his makeup still caked on his face. He tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, but the elevator did not rumble up to his floor and Alec did not return. He resisted the urge to call his boyfriend, knowing it would only make him angrier. Eventually, he drifted off into an uneasy, uncomfortable sleep.

(SCENE)

Alec pulled back into the parking lot at Magnus's place a little past midnight, rubbing his eyes to clear them of exhaustion and half-formed tears. He had driven around the outskirts of the city for hours, until he finally figured that Magnus had to be asleep. At least, he hoped Magnus was asleep. It would be impossible to face him just then.

When he got to the door to Magnus's penthouse, he unlocked it and pushed it open tentatively. All the lights were out except the one that hung over the kitchen table. It gave the place an eerie, abandoned look, and Alec closed the door quickly and locked it. He tiptoed over to Magnus's bedroom and peered in. Sure enough, Magnus was curled up under the comforter, fast asleep and frowning. Alec closed his door again and returned to the kitchen.

On the normally spotless table—Magnus believed that if you were eating somewhere, it should absolutely be clean, although that principle didn't apply to the rest of his dwelling—lay a folded piece of paper. Alec picked it up and read his own name on the sheet. Slowly, he unfolded it, dreading slightly what he might find. He read,

_You're mad at me, and you ought to be. Don't take this the wrong way. It's just that you could do so much better than me—you know I've slept around and I've done plenty of things I'm not proud of. Everyone tells me that I just don't care enough, and I used to be scared you would think that, too. And I still am, sometimes. Because I care so, so much and it's hard for me to let you know that. So I'm possessive and I know it's not right, but I hold you as tight as I can because I don't want to, I can't, let you go. I love you, Alec Lightwood, and I would be nothing without you. So yes, you're angry and I'm ashamed, but this is why I hold on so tight, why serial killers scare me and so do your harshest, truest words. This is why I love you._

_Your eyes. They were the first thing I ever noticed about you and I want them to be the last thing I see. I doubt you understand this because looking at your own eyes is not at all like looking at someone else's. Trust me on this one. You have the most incredible eyes I've ever seen. _

_The way you look at me sometimes, like you can't believe this is happening. I feel the same way, always. _

_The way you laugh just a little after we've been kissing for a long time and pull away. I'm never sure if you're laughing because it's awkward or what, and then you smile at me and I just melt._

_How you have this endless reservoir of self-control (I also kind of hate this). You can always keep me in check. But when you let go, it's both very scary and very sexy. _

_You take it slow. Everyone before just wanted my body, but you don't ask me for that and it's strange to me, but it's also amazing. It means you like me, not just my looks, and I'm not afraid to like you for something other than your looks because trust me, I do. Not that you're not sexy. You are. Very. _

_How you breathe when you sleep. You don't snore, but your breath hitches every few moments. I can't explain it. It's adorable. _

_Your hair. Endlessly, your hair. I adore it. I love everything about it. Enough said. _

_You're so good and kind and I don't deserve everything you do for me. _

_How you always know exactly what to do when someone gets hurt. You don't flinch at blood, which is a blessing, because I hate it. But you can always fix people up with minimal fuss. _

_The way you look at me sometimes like I'm a total moron when I say something crazy, but then you laugh and your eyes light up and you slap my arm._

_How strong you are. Physically and mentally, I could never measure up. _

_You know me better than I know myself (and you appreciate Adam Lambert)_

_You gave someone like me a chance, even when you're so far out of my league of losers and I've done nothing to deserve it that it isn't even fair. _

_I feel like I'm dragging you down sometimes, like I'm making you worse, but you never change who you are. You'll always be at the top, always be the best there is. _

_You. I love you. I love everything about you even when you make me mad and you're stubborn and I don't know what to do with you, and I would never exchange you for anything. _

_So I'm sorry I'm possessive and overprotective and annoying. It's just that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to you. Please forgive me, if you can. _

_I love you. _

_Magnus _

Alec closed his eyes, biting back the raw feeling in his throat and keeping his eyes dry. He felt like falling on the floor and bawling his eyes out, but he didn't. He let Magnus sleep in peace, and instead of making a racket, picked up a piece of paper of his own and started to write.

_Magnus, _

_I'm sorry I yelled. I don't know how this is going to turn out, but I'll try anyways. _

_The problem is that it's so easy to lie on paper. It would be so simple for me to just say that I'm not angry and for us to go back to how we really should be. But I don't think that will help, because it's a lie. I have a life, Magnus. I make mistakes, I have friends and things to do, I forget to call. I don't want to have to reconcile those things with you. I want them all, and maybe that's selfish, but it's the way I feel. _

_But I love you. Trust me, if I didn't, we would not be together right now in any sense of the word. I know I don't say it much, but I love you so much I don't know what to do. You said I'm out of your league, but you're so much better than me. You're always so poised and funny and confident. Sometimes I catch myself watching you just to see how you do things, because I could never get my way like you do. _

_I think it scares me a little when you hold on so tight. When I was 'friends' with Jonathan, he was always trying to tell me what to do and wear and say, and it reminds me of him when you do that sometimes. I don't want what we have to turn into resentment and I don't want to have to run away from you. I'm not sure I could leave. I love you too much. And that scares me a little bit, too. I've never had anyone to say that to. Even in my family, we hardly ever say it. But you, you're so open about everything you feel. No matter what it is, it goes from your brain to your mouth with no filter and I'm not used to that, but it's amazing at the same time. I'm not as eloquent as you, and I doubt I could put my finger on exactly what makes me love you, but there it is. I do. _

_Alec_

_P.S. Izzy is picking me up for school. I'll see you at lunch. _

(SCENE)

Alec sat down at his normal lunch table, willing Magnus to come and talk. He hoped he had done enough. When a lean figure dropped a bag on the floor and planted himself across from Alec, Alec looked up sharply and jumped to see his boyfriend.

"We're not okay, really, yet, are we?"

Alec didn't lie. "No. I don't think so."

"Do you want us to be? Because I know that I scare you a little, and you scare me and neither of us are going to change."

"Magnus—"

Magnus plowed on. "But _I_ want this to work because I meant what I said. I love you. I want to be with you. But this won't be a quick fix."

"Magnus," Alec said again. Magnus stopped. "You're right. It's not easy." Magnus bit his lip. "But, yeah, I want this to work, too." Alec looked down at the red plastic of the table.

Magnus leaned forward. "You do?"

"Yes." Alec said quietly. "Why do you think I wrote that note?"

"So, what should we do?"

"I'm not sure," Alec admitted.

"It's just…." Magnus gave a frustrated sigh. "I know I seem really overbearing. It's just that when the going got tough in any other relationship I've been in, I let them walk away and I can't do that with you."

"I've never been in another relationship," Alec said. "The only relationship experience I've ever gotten came from my health class freshman year."

"Now what?"

"Um…. Do the horribly dorky health class thing and 'set some boundaries?'"

Magnus smiled slightly. "Like what?"

"Hm…." Alec thought.

"Because if you say we skip the making out thing, I will pounce on you right here. I enjoy that way too much," Magnus said.

Alec smiled coyly. "I enjoy it, too." His face turned serious. "How about, you don't fight my battles for me. I don't need you to stick up for me all the time. I'm not a damsel in distress, even though it can seem like that because I'm so shy. If something really bothered me, I wouldn't let it slide. I've learned my lesson once, and I don't need it again."

"I can live with that," Magnus agreed. "As long as you can let me worry about the things that really matter, like this whole Hodge thing. Know that I'm going to freak out when I'm not with you. It's not that I don't trust you; I'm scared that you're not going to come home. Just understand that, if you get thirteen texts from me, that I worry because it's serious, not because I don't trust you."

Alec nodded. "Okay. But I'm probably going to get short with you sometimes. I'm not used to that kind of attention. My family doesn't show affection like that. I doubt I would be reported missing for at least three days after I was gone. They don't call or text or anything like that. They just watch out and figure that if anything is wrong, they'll be around to kick some ass."

"Yeah, but sparkles and stiletto heels can only get you so far. If Hodge came after you, I'd be pretty useless."

Alec smiled. "Don't worry. I've been taking martial arts classes since that last run in with Hodge."

"How much trouble do you think you'd be in if you brought a pocket knife in school?"

Alec pretended to think about it. "Depends on if I got caught."

"And the likelihood of that?"

"Low," Alec admitted. "But I'm not sure it would help in any case. I don't know knife fighting. Just ninja moves."

Magnus laughed, and the tension abated some. Maybe they really would be okay.

A/N: You like? Review, please! Thanks for reading! LOVE

K


	27. We Are Not Making You a Sex Tape

_A/N: Okay, let's get this straight. I gave this story up, like, two years ago. I kind of lost interest, it doesn't really matter. I didn't really want to deal with Hodge and Magnus's bitchiness and it's just so much less fun after they're already together, ect. ect. _

_And now, after two years of not updating, I still get reviews and alert list emails almost every day. JEEZ you people make me feel guilty. I mean, thank you. It is nice that people like this. _

_So don't hold your breath. This might be a one-chapter thing. I had better get a SPECTACULAR number of reviews. But I did kind of leave you hanging. _

_YOU'RE WELCOME. Needy. _

STORY!

"So." Magnus started packing up his bag after math class. "Are you coming home with me again?"

"Um. Yeah."

"Oooooh, scandalous." Ragnor grinned. "What do you _do_ all that time at your place, Mags? You keep kicking me out. Will you make a tape? Is it _kinky_? You would make _so much _money off of that, you guys are hot."

"Ragnor!" Magnus said loudly. "We are _not _making you a sex tape!"

The teacher turned around. Magnus hustled them out the door. Alec's cheeks were flaming. "It's not like _that_," he hissed at Ragnor.

Ragnor laughed. "Sure, sure."

Alec followed Magnus out to his car. He didn't even talk to Jace or Izzy. The ride home was silent. When they pulled into Magnus's parking spot, they just sat there for a minute.

Magnus broke the silence. "I love you, you know."

"I love you, too."

Magnus leaned over and kissed him lightly, then opened his door. "Come on. I need an America's Next Top Model marathon or something."

"I am not watching that show."

"Challenge accepted."

Alec did watch that show. Actually, he watched Magnus watch that show. He lay on the couch with his head in Magnus's lap while Magnus snorted at all the models and told them that "That makeup is just not working, honey. Honestly, are you trying for angel or zombie?" and combed through Alec's hair with his long fingers.

His face was shimmery with all the glitter. His mouth twitched whenever he started laughing. Alec kept his eyes on him, trying to forget about everything else.

"You're staring again," Magnus commented.

"You're pretty."

Magnus laughed. "I am pretty. I put a lot of effort into it."

Alec shook his head and sat up a little to kiss him again. Magnus pulled away after a second, smiling a little strangely. "What's wrong?" Alec asked.

"I thought you were mad at me."

Alec put his head back down in Magnus's lap. "Frustrated, I guess. Not mad. I just need my space sometimes, you know?" He paused, gaging Magnus's face. "It's okay, right? I mean, you need space too, right?"

Magnus tried to laugh lightly. "I know. Even I can't be with you every second of every day. I mean, maybe I wanted to, for a while. But I like the time we have. It would get boring if I saw you every second."

Alec smiled, relieved. "Not boring. But I like your face when I see you again after a while."

"Me, too." Magnus leaned down again to kiss him. "I'm sorry," he said against Alec's mouth.

"I'm sorry," Alec repeated. He kissed Magnus's cheek, and then his mouth again, straining up to get closer. Magnus shifted, bringing his feet up and stretching them out, and pulled Alec onto his lap, so he was sitting sideways on the couch with his legs out and Alec was on his lap, sitting forward and twisting to reach Magnus's mouth.

Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus, cupping the back of his neck with one hand and stroking his side with the other. He toyed with the ends of his hair, the silky part at the nape of his neck that had escaped all the styling and curled around Alec's fingers like it wanted him to stay there.

Magnus held Alec close with one hand, played with the hem of his shirt with the other. He pulled back again, and Alec frowned at him.

"What?" he asked.

Magnus tilted his head. He pulled back again when Alec tried to kiss him. "Are... Are you scared? Really?"

Alec sighed. "Magnus..."

"Really."

Alec pecked Magnus's lips. "Hodge?" Magnus nodded. "Of course. Of course I'm scared. I just want to be un-scared. For a while. For the night."

Magnus surveyed his face. "Yeah?"

"Nothing that we can do about it right now." He twirled the strands of hair around his fingers.

Magnus nodded and kissed his forehead, and then his cheek, his ear and his throat and his collarbone, just soft barely-kisses. Alec let his eyes slip shut and his head fall back a little. His stomach felt weird and fluttery. Magnus kissed the pulse-point in his neck. His tongue flicked out for a second, tasting his skin. Alec's breath hitched and he braced himself on Magnus's chest, pulling a leg up until he was straddling him. Magnus lay back and Alec followed him, kissing him when Magnus's head hit the pillow. He tried to keep his weight off of Magnus, to not squash him, but he kept forgetting to use one hand to hold himself up.

Magnus laughed breathlessly against Alec's neck when Alec slipped again, and took one of Alec's hands to pull it up to his hair, and the other to his shoulder. Alec relaxed on top of his boyfriend, even though he thought Magnus must be suffocating. He trailed his hand down to Magnus's throat. His skin was soft, and he could feel both their heartbeats in his fingertips. With the other hand, he stroked Magnus's side for a minute. Magnus's hands couldn't decide where to stay, running up and down Alec's back, tangling in his hair, playing with his fingers, edging the hem of his shirt. Alec hummed and bit Magnus's lip.

Magnus's tongue was hot and his mouth was sweet. Alec felt like they were devouring each other, and he couldn't pull away. He shuddered when Magnus's wandering fingers finally gave in and slipped up under the edge of his shirt. Magnus hesitated for a moment, a centimeter away from Alec's lips.

"Okay?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm." Alec reciprocated, sliding his hands under Magnus's too-tight shirt to feel his stomach, clenched slightly from leaning up to Alec, and further up, to his chest. His skin was soft and warm and trembling, and Alec could barely even focus on it with Magnus's hands hot on his back, stroking his spine and shoulder blades and waist like he couldn't stop touching him. Alec pressed their mouths together harder.

His phone rang.

He paused for a moment, his mouth still against Magnus's, trying to will the sound away. It rang again. He sighed and pulled back.

"Alec," Magnus whined, trying to follow him up. Alec put a hand against his chest.

"It might be important," he said.

Magnus took the hand in his own and pressed it against his lips. "This is important." It was distracting.

The phone kept ringing. "It might be my parents," Alec argued. "It'll just take a minute."

Magnus rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "Mmmm."

Alec dug the phone out of his pocket and pressed the call button without even glancing at the screen. "Hello?" he answered it, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Magnus turned his hand over and kissed his palm and then his wrist, and smirked up at him.

"Hello, Mr. Lightwood."

Every muscle in Alec's body tensed up. Magnus released his hand, surprised, and Alec had to fight to keep his face semi-normal.

"I know you're there, Mr. Lightwood. I presume you're just surprised. Silly, honestly. Did you think I didn't have your phone number?"

"Silly," Alec echoed. He couldn't even think properly. Magnus's confused face blurred in Alec's vision. Magnus. He had to keep Magnus out of this. He forced his voice into submission. "Of course. Yes." He took a deep breath. "Why are you calling?"

"I was wondering if, perhaps, you had lost the whereabouts of your youngest brother." A pause. "If you haven't, I'm sure you will shortly."

Oh no. No no no no no. Alec disentangled his legs from Magnus's and sat up properly. Magnus kept his eyes on Alec's face, but Alec didn't notice. "Where is he?"

"Do you expect me to just _tell _you?" A disappointed sigh.

"It's not him you're interested in."

"Well, I suppose you're right, but you're being an awful bore."

"Where is he?"

An address. Alec's fingers trembled, but he pulled the phone away from his ear and typed it out on the keypad so he wouldn't forget. "Please, come at your earliest convenience, Mr. Lightwood."

"Of course."

"And alone."

"Yes."

"Good. You always were one of my best students. I trust you will be punctual." The line went dead.

A text from Isabelle lit up his screen again. _did u take max home? couldnt find him after school. _

Shit. Oh no. No no no.

"Magnus, I need your car." He stood and straightened his shirt.

"What?"

"I need your car. I won't be too long."

"Who was that on the phone?"

"My mom."

"Really."

Alec's arms were already through his jacket and he was reaching for the keys. "She needs me to pick up Max."

"What is going on?"

"My mom needs me to pick up Max." Alec was halfway out the door already, the keys clutched firmly in his hands. Magnus scrambled off the couch.

"_Explain to me!" _Magnus yelled after him.

"I love you!" Alec called back. He raced down the stairs, running into Ragnor on the flight.

"Had a fight?" Ragnor asked, and Alec didn't even stop to wonder why he was there. Magnus rushed after him, rumpled and flustered and confused and beyond worried. Alec had started the car and was screeching off before Magnus had time to stumble out into the parking lot.

_A/N: HAHA SUCKERS! Now that I have FINALLY picked this story up again, I have no qualms about making you suffer. Now, your reviews made me start this again, so I need them to help me continue. I WILL finish this story, I swear. I even planned it all out and have a friend to kick my butt and everything. _

_Also, I finally added a real kissing scene. You're welcome. _

_I hope you enjoyed! And please please please review! I do indeed beg your forgiveness for the long, _LONG _wait. I love and adore you all. _

_Sorry. _

_Review? _


	28. Do Not Wreck My Car

_A/N: I will finish this story if it kills me, I swear. I did say I wouldn't abandon you, didn't I? Thank you so much for the reviews and all the favorites. You guys left so, so many reviews and it was amazing to read them all. I hardly deserve it after being gone so long. I'm really sorry I couldn't reply individually to everyone, but suffice it to say that you got me to put this chapter up. Also, sorry I didn't edit the last chapter, like, at all. I just wanted to get it up, and I hope you guys liked it! _

_Enjoy! _

Alec hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to actually try to drive Magnus's car. The car he usually drove, which was his parents' and not his own, was nice, but it had nothing on this one. Magnus liked speed and Alec knew it. He just hadn't expected it to be so hard to slow down.

His mind was moving too fast, faster than the car. He had to get Max out of this, whatever else happened. God, his baby brother, what had he been thinking? He should have stayed with his family. If he had stayed with them, there would have been no need to lure him out like this. No need to drag anyone else in on it. Okay, okay, nothing would happen before he got there, and he had to concentrate on staying out of a car wreck because it wouldn't do Max any good if Alec died now.

Cops, cops, should he call the cops? _No of course not, _he thought. It had barely worked the first time, and _he_ would be expecting them. Alec knew the first hint of a siren would get Max's throat slit.

The address was residential. He tried to scramble with Magnus's GPS system for a minute before realizing that it wanted him to speak the location, not type it. He read it off of his phone, and looked up just in time to avoid a catastrophe with a bike and a German shepherd that Magnus's paint job would not have appreciated. The dog barked over the biker's cussing, but Alec had already zoomed off and run a red light. Maybe if he drove insanely enough, the cops would be following him anyways.

That was probably a terrible idea.

He couldn't hear the honking horns behind him over the blood pounding in his ears. Over the panicked _drive faster faster good god please don't let anything happen keep Max out of it just get there faster what is going to happen oh my god oh my god oh my god, _a weird stray thought flashed through his mind; he was missing swim practice. He grabbed onto the thought because his stream of consciousness had turned into a raging river and he had started drowning in it.

He didn't know how he had forgotten practice, of all things. He was usually so intent on swim season. Magnus had just asked him if he was coming home and he hadn't even thought about it... Coach was going to kill him.

If Coach got the chance, at least.

Maybe that had been a bad thought to grab onto.

Without entirely realizing how he had gotten there, Alec was suddenly skidding down a narrow neighborhood road. All the houses were respectable and tall with nice little lawns in front. It looked like suburbia. Very new, very well manicured, very quiet and unlived-in suburbia. Having expected imposing apartments and concrete and security cameras and locked gates, Alec was thrown off track. He checked the address on his phone against the street sign again, but it matched. And the house number was there, just ahead. He parked the car.

His desperate rush had dissipated into the weirdly clean air and suddenly he couldn't even move. He gripped the steering wheel even tighter than he had while he had been careening through the streets, and fought back the impending panic attack. What was inside? Was Max really there, or had it just been a trap? Or was Max really there, and dead? Alec's lungs felt like they were trying to twist themselves up and crawl out of his mouth, so he gritted his teeth and tried to pull himself together. He should have asked to speak to Max. That was stupid.

He checked his recent calls in his phone, but the number from the last call was blocked. "Shit," he muttered, staring up at the front door. Only one thing to do, really, he supposed. He straightened his back, got out of the car, and marched up the sidewalk with his head held high. He didn't hesitate before pressing the doorbell, and the door obligingly swung open to reveal a smiling Hodge.

"Alexander! I was wondering what had been holding you up. But now that you're here, let's get things started, shall we?" Behind him, Alec could see Max, slumped over in a chair. "I am so excited to get to spend some time with you," Hodge added. Alec stepped inside, and the front door slammed shut behind him.

* * *

><p>Magnus didn't waste any time locking his door or changing direction or anything like that. He just grabbed Ragnor's shirt as he barreled down the stairs.<p>

"Get your keys out!" he yelled in Ragnor's ear.

"What is going on?" Ragnor asked, trying really hard not to run over Magnus's nice boots as they tumbled through the parking lot.

"_Now, bitch!" _

Alec had already skidded out onto the street in Magnus's beautiful car. Magnus wasted a moment hoping he wouldn't crash it because it was _expensive _to get a car painted that color, and also his boyfriend was kind of irreplaceable.

The intensity on his face didn't stop Ragnor for a second. "So, want to tell me why you're hijacking my car, Maggie?"

"Alec." He didn't have time to talk about this. "Find the GPS tracking device for my car on my phone. Figure out where he's going." He hit the gas before Ragnor's door was even closed.

"Your phone is password locked, Magnus. What makes you think I can do that?" Ragnor was already reaching over to pull the phone out of Magnus's super-tight jeans

"You've been able to hack into my phone for the past four years, do it now bitch."

"You make me want to help you so much." He typed in the passcode. "Doesn't this make you feel kind of stalker-y?" This was creepy, even for Magnus. And maybe Ragnor was a nervous-talker. It wasn't his fault. Maybe he should shut up, too, but on the other hand, maybe not.

"Did you _see _the look on his face?" Magnus snapped. "I'm not letting him get _killed _because he's too _stubborn _and _protective _to let me know what's going on!"

"I am not sure I'm okay with you driving my car into a life and death situation," Ragnor said cooly. Well, pretty cooly. His voice wasn't shaking or anything like that.

"He has a serial killer after him, Ragnor!" Ragnor didn't think Magnus's voice was meant to reach that octave, but he kept his mouth shut about it, this time. "If I don't do something, it will be a _death _and death situation!"

"Turn left here," Ragnor said, glancing down at the phone.

"Here?"

"Now!"

Magnus veered across a few lanes of traffic and hit the curb, but didn't slow down.

"Be careful with my car, would you!" Ragnor protested. Magnus's expression didn't exactly inspire confidence, and Ragnor found himself talking just because he couldn't stop talking, in case he went crazy from the tension. "Is this like, super necessary? Because yes, Alec looked like he was in a hurry but maybe that's not a reason to get in a car wreck- turn right here- do _not _crash my car, whore! Like, what did he say to you?"

"He had to pick up his brother."

"So maybe he's picking up his damn brother!" Ragnor took a deep breath, wishing that Magnus would do the same. He didn't really believe it, but the possibility was there, wasn't it? It was better than any alternative.

"You didn't see his face." Magnus had gone from scarily hysterical to scarily calm within Ragnor's last two sentence, although his driving had, unfortunately, not improved.

"Yeah but I mean, maybe it's all cool and not an issue and his mom's just in a hurry to have Max home or something- turn left- _Magnus that is a red light!- _Jesus, Bane, try not to get us killed before we get there!"

"I see my car."

It was parked. Magnus skidded in across the street just as he saw the front door of the house behind Magnus's car slam shut. Magnus took a deep breath. "Now, do you have any idea why Alec would be in a place like this, to pick up his little brother?"

Ragnor fidgeted. "Um, no. Not really."

"What the fuck are we going to do?"

"Um."

"Shit." But what he meant was, _Shit, not Alec, anything but Alec. _

"Okay," Ragnor reasoned. "Okay, well, how do we know something bad is happening?"  
>"You already asked this." Magnus was still gripping the steering wheel.<p>

"You never answered."

"Alec has a _serial killer _after him," Magnus gritted out. "And if _Max _is involved, things are just going to go downhill from here."

"But. But." Ragnor didn't actually have any answers. He couldn't deny the frantic look on Alec's face as he had raced out.

"Okay." Magnus closed his eyes. "I mean, we can't just charge in there."

"We can just call the police," Ragnor pointed out.

"Alec hasn't called," Magnus said. "He must have a good reason for not calling."

"Yeah, like stupidity."

Magnus ignored the slight to his boyfriend. "I mean, what if Hodge threatened him?"

"I don't think you get more threatening than intending to violently kill you. You can't really turn that situation much worse."

Magnus nodded, but he was distracted, not listening. "We need to figure out what's going on."  
>"You intend to singlehandedly save your boyfriend from a murderous... murderer?" Ragnor asked. "Jesus, Mags. Call the damn police."<p>

"I need to find out what's going on first," Magnus insisted. "Okay? Maybe you're right. Maybe nothing's wrong, and I'm just overreacting like I apparently do every time with everything."

"So, what, you're just going to go up and ring the doorbell and make sure everything's all right?" Ragnor shook his head.

"No, of course not," Magnus snorted. "I'm going to see if I can look in any of the windows, and you're going to cover me."

"Cover you with _what_? I don't have a gun or anything helpful like that, Magnus!"

Encouraged by having a plan of action, Magnus slid out of the car. "Grab a tree branch or something. Or, don't you have a crowbar in the backseat?"

Ragnor grumbled, but it mostly sounded trembly. "Right." He leaned over the back of his seat and shoved papers to the side until he found the crowbar. "If you get me killed for this, I will haunt you forever, Magnus."

"I would be insulted if you didn't. Now let's go rescue my damn boyfriend."

_A/N: Sooo... Cliffhangers. They're fun, aren't they? I seriously appreciate your reviews so, so much. Please review this chapter? I WILL finish this story, hopefully before New Years. I know I'm awful about updating, but no more abandonment! _

_I hope you guys enjoyed this! _

_LOVE_

_K_


	29. No Neighbors

_A/N: I KNOW that this is so horrifyingly late that I don't even deserve to be writing an author's note right now, I should just get on with the damn story. I lied to you about finishing this before the New Year and I am sorry! I've just been so happy to be on break and done with finals and with my family that I have... actually, I've been conjugating French verbs because I. Have. Forgotten. Everything. _

_Excuses, excuses, I know. _

_BUT I hope you enjoyed the cliffie anyways, and thank you always, endlessly, for the reviews. It blows me away that you guys love this story so much and I am thrilled to hear from all of you. Thank you so much. _

_And now, ONWARD! _

The first thing that Alec saw after the door slammed was Max. It was almost a comfort to know that Alec hadn't dragged himself into this for nothing, except that his baby brother was also in it and now he had someone else to worry about, too.

_Max is not going to get hurt_, he told himself fiercely. The problem was that Max was duct taped to a chair and didn't appear to be conscious. "What did you do to him?" he growled at Hodge, but his voice shook.

"Now, now," Hodge beamed. "We're not here to talk about your little brother! We're here to talk about _you_, Alexander."

His smile made Alec's skin crawl. He gritted his teeth. "_I _want to talk about Max," he said flatly. He took a step towards his brother, but Hodge held a hand out in front of his chest warningly. Alec stopped, but didn't take his eyes off Max.

Hodge shook his head. "You always were so stubborn, Alexander. I just wanted a little assurance that you wouldn't attack me, like you did so ungraciously last time."

"Please do not pretend like you were acting the perfect gentleman." Alec's fingers seemed a little less numb now.

"You wound me, Alexander." Hodge certainly looked woebegone, but his voice sounded too gleeful for his face. "Now, I propose a little deal."

"Tell me what you did to Max."

"I'm _getting _to that, don't be so impatient." Hodge took a deep breath to steady himself. "Now. I gave Max a sleeping pill, but he really should be waking up very soon." Alec nodded slowly. _Let that be all, please, let that be all_. If that was all, he could knock out Hodge, take his brother, and book it out of there. "I also injected him with a _little _bit of boomslang venom."

Alec felt like his chest had suddenly iced over. "Excuse me?"

"Now, there's no need to worry if you cooperate," Hodge said with another smile. "I have the antivenin."

Alec's thoughts were swirling wildly. If he could find the antivenin, he could still save Max and himself, probably, even though he didn't really have the upper hand. Also... "I thought boomslang was just a thing in Harry Potter."

"There is no need to act so... uneducated," Hodge said. "Boomslangs are snakes, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Their venom causes internal hemorrhaging."

"But you have the antidote."

"Yes, of course I do. I told you, Alexander. I'm not interested in your brother."

"Show me," Alec said forcefully.

Hodge laughed. "Show you? No, I said I didn't want a repeat of last time, didn't I? It's hidden away. Don't be such a spoilsport. No. I will let you switch places with your brother, and then I will give him the antivenin and he will wake up shortly, and I will allow him to run away if, indeed, he can run at that point."

A trickle of blood dripped out of Max's nose. "What do you mean, if he can run?" Alec asked.

"Well, the venom doesn't act particularly quickly, but it's been working through little Max for a while now, and he's probably suffering from a certain amount of internal bleeding. I can assure you that I will not do anything more to Max once I have you in that chair. How much damage he suffers depends entirely on how long it takes you to make your decision."

Max stirred as Alec's mind raced. What choice did he have, really? "So give it to him, then," he said finally. "And you can tie me up like I'm sure you've been dreaming about for so long."

"No, no," Hodge sighed. "Switch now, and _then _I'll give him the antidote."

"How do I know you won't just leave him there to die?" Alec challenged.

"Well, I'd give you my word, but I don't get the sense it would mean much to you," Hodge said sorrowfully. "So, you don't know. But it gives him a chance, does it not? While if you don't make your decision, he has no chance at all. And, as I have now told you more than enough times, I'm _not interested _in Max. He's a bit young for me." When Alec didn't answer, he smiled. "Come now. He's not getting any healthier."

Minutely, Alec nodded.

MIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMI

Magnus, used to sneaking up on people to listen to their conversations, was well-versed in sneakiness. All the windows in the front of the house were covered with tightly closed curtains, but there had to be an opening to see inside, and he employed all his considerable will power in keeping the gravel from crunching as he edged around the house to the side.

"Magnus, this is a terrible idea," Ragnor whispered as he followed, hefting the crowbar nervously. "What if something really is going on?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Magnus retorted. "But it will be a disaster if we call the police and _nothing_'s going on, ok? And if there is, what do you think Hodge will do if he hears sirens? Alec's not going anywhere, not if he really does have Max." He leaned away from the house, which he was pressed against, to peer around the window frame. These curtains were closed, too. "Damn," he muttered.

"Okay," Ragnor said, like he was trying to convince himself, too. "Okay."

"We need to hurry," Magnus muttered, moving quickly to the next window, near the back corner of the house. "If we're too late..." His stomach swooped. Alec had been his boyfriend longer than anyone else had managed, but he wasn't prepared to let go of him just yet.

"I feel like I'm in a spy movie," Ragnor said as he crept along after Magnus. "But worse."

"Do you hear that?" Magnus asked. Ragnor paused and listened.

"Yeah," he said. The walls must have been thick to block the sound, because someone was yelling from inside but it sounded very faint. Magnus sped up, around the corner and into the back yard. There was a porch here, with a door, but it was curtained off, too.

"What if we can't see inside?" Ragnor asked.

"Shut up," Magnus advised. He turned the other corner. There was only one more window to check, and the glare from the sun reflected off of it so he couldn't tell from this angle if it was blocked, too, or not. It made him feel like a eight-year-old, but he crossed his fingers and counted to three before leaning over again and looking inside.

He pulled back almost at once, and Ragnor whispered, "What?"

Magnus didn't reply. There was a crack in these curtains, although he couldn't see much. He heard another yell, and it was louder from this side of the house. Heart thudding, he moved so he would be able to see inside, but move out of the way quickly if anyone in there saw him.

Alec was there, all right, and not in a good position. Magnus could only see the side of his neck and part of his chin and shoulder, but he was clearly restrained. Magnus felt cold. A hand loosely wrapped around the handle of a paring knife came into view. Magnus reached a fist up to pound the window, to distract the hand, but Ragnor grabbed his arm hard.

"You're no good if he gets you, too!" he hissed. He was glaring over Magnus's shoulder. Magnus struggled for a moment. He had to _do something_, how could he let this happen? "Could you stop and think for a moment?" Ragnor demanded.

"All right!" Fist clenched, Magnus shifted to get Ragnor off of him. As he did, he saw a small, dark figure sprawled on the floor inside, obviously unconscious. A line of blood made its way down Alec's neck.

He had seen enough. "Call 911," Magnus ordered Ragnor. "And stay out of the way."

MIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMI

Alec kept his body as relaxed as he could, even though the ropes were digging in to his wrists and he could feel the blood dripping on the collar of his shirt. Max was on his back on the floor, maybe, hopefully, safe.

"I love this game!" Hodge yelled. He tapped the point of his knife gleefully on the inside of Alec's left wrist. Alec didn't flinch. He had taken enough martial arts to know that tensing up made things hurt more.

Hodge twisted the knife a little. "So quiet, Alexander," he sighed. "You don't need to worry about being overheard. Interestingly enough, I have no neighbors." He let out a shriek that would have made any raven proud, and laughed loudly. "You see? No one will hear."

Alec pretended that his blood was made of ice and he couldn't feel anything. He kept his eyes on Max, because he knew that if he reacted like he wanted to, his brother would get the backlash.

Hodge kept talking. "This is a new housing development," he said, drawing the lines of Alec's collarbone in blood. "And no one is moved in. Not even me, really. I'm just... squatting, I suppose." He smiled and nicked Alec's ear. Alec's head twitched and Hodge's grin widened. "This is a model home. It's nice, don't you think? Really, Alexander. Don't look so distressed, won't you? I won't let you ruin the carpet or anything like that."

_A/N: Are you sick of cliffies? I kind of am. Again, I am so incredibly amazingly shockingly sorry that this took so long. I... hope you liked it? I know nothing good really happened here, but, you know, excitement can be good. _

_Thank you again for all the favorites, alerts, and reviews. Please review this chapter! There were bits of it that I didn't like much, and I love to know what you guys think. Thank you for being so patient (or at least not actively antagonizing me), and I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can! _

_LOVE_

_K_


	30. The Sky is Falling

_A/N: THIS STORY SHALL BE COMPLETED! _

_Thank you all so much for the reviews and love. Welcome to all the new readers, as well._

_I know I'm awful at updating and it is so wonderful of you to stick with this story. I made a promise that I will finish it, and I will. Hopefully before summer, since there really isn't much left. Alec has been in this situation long enough._

_So, on we go! Sorry for the cliffhanger... but not really. _

_Warning: I did not edit this chapter. _

The keys were still in the ignition. Magnus closed his eyes, breathing hard.

"What are you doing?" Ragnor hissed at him.

"You might want to back up," Magnus replied, slamming the door shut with Ragnor still outside.

"Are you leaving_? _Where are you going to go? You can't just leave me here!" Ragnor protested.

Magnus started the car.

Hodge was lying about the carpet. There was blood on it already, in little droplets that were threatening to turn into small puddles. Alec's wrists chafed against the ropes. They weren't so tight that he couldn't move, but he couldn't slide his hand out either, over the joint of his thumb. He thought about it while Hodge thought about where to slice him up next.

He lifted his head. "Fix Max," he said.

Hodge sighed. "We were having a moment, Alexander. We were, as they say, on a roll."

"I'm not going anywhere. You said you didn't care about him. Give him the medicine."

"You're no fun," Hodge pouted.

Somehow, Alec smiled. "You have me here. I'm pissed at you and I can't get out. What's not fun about that?"

Hodge squinted at him. "That boyfriend of yours has made you sassy."

Alec's heart contracted and he squeezed his eyes shut. "Just fix him," he growled.

Hodge sighed again and stalked out of the room. He came back in with a syringe and a long-suffering expression.

"Is that it?" Alec asked.

"Of course," Hodge said. He leaned over Max. Alec realized, a little late, that he had no guarantee that the syringe actually contained the antidote. It could be another lethal poison, or drain cleaner, or just air which was as deadly as venom when injected.

"Wait!" he yelped, but he was too late. The plunger had already been depressed, and Alec slumped back, his heart beating too fast.

He had to do something about the ropes.

Hodge made his way back to Alec and took up the knife again. Alec pretended he wasn't there, he went deep into his head and thought about the problem.

Alec did have an idea about it. It was a terrible idea, but his situation couldn't really degenerate much more. He would have to move fast. His legs were free, which was more than nothing. Alec zoned back into the present moment as Max sat up slowly, his hand on his head.

"Alec?" he asked, his voice very small. He got a good look around him and his eyes went too big for his little face.

"Your brother is awake, Alexander!" Hodge crowed. "I told you he would be fine, didn't I? Maybe a little weak."

A weird thrill of relief and terror coursed through Alec. "Run, Max!" he snapped. He strained against the bindings. "Go!"

"Isn't this a good show, Max?" Hodge asked. "Alexander just dropped in to pick you up, but he really did have to stay and chat."

"Get out of here!" Alec bellowed. He was going to have to get his hands free. He just didn't want to try.

Max scrambled to his shaky feet. He was pale, bruised, and looked very ready to pass out again. But his voice was clear. "I'm not leaving without you," he stated.

Alec could have screamed with frustration. And he did, as Hodge started towards Max with a big grin on his face, but mostly to disguise his scream of pain as he broke his thumb and wrenched his hand free.

He was on his feet in an instant, wrenching the chair around with the hand still tied to it. Hodge turned too slowly. The chair caught him in the chest, and he stumbled. Alec was terrified by how weak the hit had been, not even hard enough to knock over an old man. Max shrieked, and Hodge yelled angrily. Alec didn't know what kind of sound he made, his ears were roaring so much.

Hodge had just turned on him when the noise intensified. A screaming, crunching avalanche crashed through the room. He was suddenly, inexplicably, staring up at the ceiling which was suddenly, inexplicably, only mostly there. It looked like a car had driven through the living room wall, but he couldn't move his head enough to check. He couldn't feel his broken hand, and the white noise in his ears drowned out everything else. He needed to check on Max, but he couldn't make himself move.

Actually, a car _had _driven through the living room wall. Magnus stung all over from the onslaught of a shattered windshield coupled with the devastating effects of steaming metal against plaster and brick. He wasn't sure which part of him hurt most but he doubt he hurt as much as Alec, so he just kicked open the twisted door and stumbled out into the remains of the south wall of the house.

He saw Max first, so at least Alec hadn't run in like an idiot for nothing. He was just to the left of the car door. He wasn't moving, just a little dark shape huddled in white rubble. Magnus moved toward him, and promptly fell when he tried to kneel as he realized that he couldn't actually bend his leg. Max seemed to be breathing. Magnus tried to take his pulse. He wasn't sure exactly how to do it, but he thought he could feel something in Max's thin wrist. Hodge was to the right. It looked as if the fender of the car had slammed into his back and he had gone down hard. Magnus dragged himself past him and to Alec.

He was half-buried in bits of wall, his hand was all wrong, and he was covered in blood. His eyes were open and glassy. Magnus almost threw up. For a moment, his mind flashed with the thought, _you've killed him. You were too late, or the wall falling or the car hit him and you've killed him. _

Alec whimpered. It sounded pathetic and immeasurably painful, but if he could make that sound, he was alive. Magnus's stomach lurched and he half-crawled, half-fell to him. "Alec?"

"Ma-" he whimpered again, like he didn't have enough air for a sob. "Mm-Max."

Magnus reached out to touch his hair. Alec's eyes were racing; he didn't look like he could see much. "Alec. Max is okay." He didn't know if it was true, but he had to say it. "Alec, it's me. It's okay."

Alec's eyes focused for a minute on Magnus's face. "Magnus?" He blinked too slowly, spoke even slower. "Mmm. Magnus." His eyes closed. He tried to lift his hand, and let out a high-pitched whine.

"No," Magnus couldn't take it, couldn't stand to see Alec like this. He was reduced to something like an injured dog with those little noises he couldn't control. "No, no, don't move. We're going to get help, just stay still."

Alec didn't move again, but lay tense and stunned, forcing air in and out of his lungs. He closed his eyes again. "Don't go to sleep," Magnus said quickly. "Stay awake. Alec. Alec, look at me." He touched his face, and Alec let out a sound of protest. "Look at me!"

His eyes opened, glassy and less frantic. "Stay awake. Talk to me, can you talk to me?"

"I... I don't..." Alec was struggling.

"It's okay. It's okay. Stay awake, it's okay I'm right here." Magnus himself could barely see, what with the uncontrollable tears and clouds of dust still in the air.

Magnus realized, after a moment, that Alec hadn't actually lost control. He wasn't too weak and out of breath to cry. From the set of his mouth, he was holding himself just on this side of consciousness, and just this side of screaming. Magnus couldn't believe he had the willpower to do both at once.

Sirens blared down the street. "They're here," Magnus breathed. Alec's eyes closed again. "No, no, hold on!" Magnus protested. "They're here, just stay awake, you'll be fine, Max will be fine, keep your eyes open!"

Alec kept his eyes open. Ragnor was yelling outside; Magnus had no idea how he hadn't heard him before. A moment later, paramedics were swarming through the hole in the wall around the car, calling things to each other. Magnus couldn't keep track of much anymore. Someone was leaning over him, a young woman.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Magnus said. "I'm fine, get Alec."

The woman called over her shoulder, "I need two stretchers over here!" A man was crouching over Alec, taking stock. The woman turned back to Magnus. "Your leg is broken," she said. "I need you to stay calm. We'll take care of you."

"Get Alec," he protested. He doubted he could have kicked the door open with a broken leg. He couldn't really feel it, now that he thought about it.

"We'll get your friend out, too," she said. As she spoke, people carrying stretchers had climbed through. They helped Magnus onto one, and he looked back as they carried him out to see more of them clustered around Alec, clearing away the debris and lifting him up. He shrieked, and went immediately silent. Magnus couldn't see him, even though he tried. Magnus was crying.

They lifted him into an ambulance. Another was waiting behind it, surrounded by police cars, and his peeled away as soon as they shut the doors.

The woman answered his question before he could ask it. "We're taking you to the hospital. The other ambulance will be right behind us. I don't know what kind of condition your friend was in, but he was still conscious so I need you to focus on yourself. Take a few deep breaths for me."

Magnus obeyed, even though it kind of didn't help.

"What happened?" she asked. He got the feeling she was trying to distract him from the rapidly spreading pain in his leg, and the cuts all over his body.

"Um." He tried to focus. "I drove a car through the wall?"

"How did you get out?" one of the other paramedics asked, sounding weirdly amused. He probably saw bloodier things most days.

"I kicked the door open," Magnus said.

"You were lucky the walls were so thin," the woman said. "Driving a car through a house doesn't usually work like it does in the movies."

"I had to."

He lost track of the questions again. When they got to the hospital, they made him sit still while they set his leg. He kept asking about Alec and Max, and they kept not answering. He wanted to stay awake and know when they came in, but they doused him with painkillers until he literally could not keep his eyes open.

_N/A: I hope you are happy with me! _

_My endless thanks go to senseofobligation for helping me figure out what actually is going on in this fic, since I clearly update so infrequently that I forget what's already happened. _

_This is a _little _cliffie, the way most chapters should end. Yay to our badass boys! _

_I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. We are approaching the end! I will have a few more chapters, and maybe an epilogue depending on how busy I am. Please review! The more reviews I get, the more likely I am to add an epilogue! _

_Thanks for sticking with me! _

_LOVE _

_K_


	31. Broken Bones

_A/N: Do you know what I hate? I hate it when my formatting doesn't work and I go back through my story to realize that there ARE NO LINE BREAKS. I'm really sorry, guys. _

_Do you know what else I hate? Authors who never update. Therefore, I have updated. I know, I suck. In my defense, I spent this summer in El Salvador, a trip notable for its cheap food, good people, and astounding lack of internet and running water. _

_If you have any interest in foreign affairs, notably the emigration problem from El Salvador to the US (which has a direct impact on the lives of Americans, don't think it's not important in the US), I would highly recommend this blog, written by my sister. _

_Enough apologizing and promotions. Onto the story, what you all actually care about. _

_xxx_

Magnus's face swam in and out of Alec's vision. Alec tried to focus on it, and on his voice which cut through the roaring in his ears. He wanted to close his eyes so badly. He wanted to fall asleep and stop feeling. His concentration had been broken by the shock of so many things happening at once, and he couldn't distance himself from the pain anymore.

After a while, he realized that Magnus's face and voice had been replaced with a circus of others that he didn't recognize. His mind wasn't quite working, but he could feel his legs again. He kind of wished he couldn't. More people were telling him to stay awake as they tried to move him. _No no no no no no no! _his mind protested. Moving was not a good idea. They lifted him up, his head shifted and he let out an unholy shriek.

"Hold him steady!" someone yelled. He tried very hard to not let his head move again. He also tried very hard not to yell again. He caught sight of Max for a moment, looking tiny and limp on a stretcher. Then he was inside an ambulance and surrounded by more people. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but there was a lot of fast orders going around.

Someone's voice cut through the din, "Is he actually still conscious?" Alec took that as permission to black out.

xxx

When he awoke, it was to a cloud of blazing white that slowly resolved itself into a hospital room. His head felt fuzzy and confused. He squinted down at himself by dint of trying to shift his neck and wincing a lot. He was covered in a light sheet and hooked up to a few clear tubes. A nurse came in after a few moments while Alec was still trying to figure out if he could move his left hand.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"Um." Alec blinked. It seemed like a stupid question. "Like I've been sliced up and hit by a car?"

She laughed. "Well, that is an accurate description. Do you want me to give you a rundown on what's going on, or should I wait until you're a little more conscious?"

"I'm conscious," he said.

"All right." She moved around the room, checking the tubes and bandages that Alec hadn't even noticed. "Well, you've lost a lot of blood, but we gave you a transfusion and your levels are almost normal again already. You have a concussion." That explained why his head felt so strange. "And a lot of cuts that needed stitches. Your right ankle is broken, and your left hand, and you have a cracked rib. But nothing is unfixable; you were lucky."

He didn't feel that lucky, but at least he felt alive. Painfully alive. "Where's Max?" His memory flashed through, trying to remember exactly what had happened. "And Magnus! Is Magnus okay?"

"Max is your brother, right?"

"Yeah."

"And Magnus is the boy who was driving the car?"

Was he? "I think so."

"I can't tell you much about Max except that he's in the ICU," the nurse said. Alec's stomach clenched and he squeezed his eyes shut until he got his breath under control.

"Will he be okay?"

"Well," the nurse hesitated. "It didn't look like he was in good shape, but he's still alive. After all that, he's alive, so he's a fighter."

Max wasn't a fighter, Alec wanted to protest. Max was a little boy. But he didn't say anything, just nodded and winced when his head protested.

"What about Magnus?" he asked.

"He's got a broken leg and a few nasty cuts, but he's fine. Actually-" she grinned- "I think he's been pestering your doctor about seeing you since he woke up. Your doctor's almost given in, so I'm sure you'll see him soon. He's even more persistent than the police officers."

Alec wasn't sure if he could smile, but his mouth twitched a little bit. He could see Magnus having the entire staff under his thumb and using it ruthlessly to his advantage.

The nurse straightened and nodded. "That's about it. Your sister has been in to see you, with some kid who says he's your brother but doesn't look much like it. Your sister says your parents are still out of town." She looked disapproving. "Do you need anything else?"

"I want to see Magnus," he said immediately. "And Isabelle and Jace." They would be furious, but he hadn't thought he would see them again at all.

She smiled down at him. "You'll see them soon, I swear. I think the painkillers are going to knock you out again pretty soon."

She was right and he knew it. He was drowsy again already, despite the knot of worry inside his chest about Max. His eyes closed against his will.

xxx

He woke up again to the sound of people arguing outside his door. His head felt marginally less fuzzy, but the rest of his body felt quite a bit better. He couldn't tell if it was because he was healing, or because he was too doped up on painkillers to feel the damage.

"I have _been _waiting!" someone was saying loudly. Another voice replied more softly, and the first protested again, "I don't care if he's asleep, just let me go in!"

The conversation continued along this line for a few more minutes, and Alec eventually realized that it was Magnus outside the door. Then he felt stupid for taking so long to realize it. He hoped he didn't have permanent brain damage from the concussion or anything. That would be inconvenient.

A different voice cut through the hushed conversation, not even bothering to keep quiet. "I don't care. Let me in _now._"

Isabelle marched through the door. When she saw he was awake, her eyes widened. "Alec! Oh my god, look at you, you look even worse with your eyes open."

"Thanks. Hello to you too," he said, trying to smile. After a second, he realized that she was trying not to cry. She covered it up well, marching over to him and shaking her finger impressively.

"What the hell were you thinking!" she exclaimed, eyes shining. "You almost _died_, you could have- what would I have- _God_!"

"Isabelle!" Magnus was in the doorway, impatiently tapping his fingers.

"Oh, sorry." She rushed over to him, wiping her eyes, and pushed his wheelchair to the side of the bed. His leg was in a cast, and his left wrist was wrapped in gauze, which explained why he couldn't wheel himself in.

"You are a hot mess," Magnus tried to joke. "Don't ever do something like that again."

"You're one to talk," Alec slurred. These painkillers were really something else. "You drove a car through the wall."

"You walked right into someone who had your death already planned out." Alec blinked at him, and Magnus sighed when he saw that his words weren't having any effect. "We will talk about this when you're more lucid."

Alec smiled again. It hurt. "Thanks for saving me. I would hug you, but they told me my rib was broken. Also, I can't move."

"I would kiss you, but the chair's too low," Magnus sighed. "Also, your face hurts just to look at."

"Both of you are _enormously _moronic, and you deserve each other," Jace said from the doorway. "And you ever try anything like that again, I won't have to kill you because you will already be dead."

"Jace!" Alec exclaimed. He didn't smile again, it hurt his face too much.

"Happy to see me?" his brother raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you're alive."

"Like you wouldn't have done the same," Alec said hazily.

"This is not a contest of who is stupider, boys," Isabelle said. "Although it's definitely Jace."

"Hey!" Jace protested.

"Thanks, Izzy," Alec said. He changed the subject. "How is Max?"

Isabelle pursed her lips. "He's still in the ICU but they said he's looking better. He has some internal bleeding but somehow he didn't break anything." She looked away. "I'm serious about you never, _ever _playing the stupid hero again, but if either of you had gotten there much later, he'd be dead."

"Sure thing." Alec's eyes closed. Isabelle kissed his forehead.

"We'll come back to see you soon," Magnus assured him.

"I love you," Alec said. It took a lot of effort; he was losing control of his mouth again. "I love all of you."

They were gone before he remembered to ask about Hodge, and asleep again before he could care much.

xxx

Alec got steadily more lucid as the days went on. The police finally got past the doctors so they could question him, and they came by to ask more questions every day for nearly a week. These sessions always exhausted him, and it wasn't until the third day that he got any answers out of them. Hodge had died that morning in the hospital, they informed him. He didn't have the energy to feel anything about it.

Magnus was always hanging around after the police left, and Alec was grateful for his presence. He didn't ask anything, just sat and held Alec's good hand and gossiped about what was going on at school, egged on shamelessly by Isabelle and sneered at by Jace. On the fourth day, Max was taken out of ICU. When the nurse left after telling Alec that he would be okay, Alec cried from relief, alone in his room until his rib ached and the cut on his cheek stung.

His parents arrived on the fifth day after a packed midnight flight and so many phone calls to airlines, doctors, and family members that they hardly had the presence of mind to talk to Alec at all.

"Who is this?" his mother finally got up the energy to ask, gesturing to Magnus who was dozing next to Alec's bed.

Alec stared at her for a minute. He had actually forgotten that his parents didn't know about him and Magnus. It seemed kind of absurd, actually. "He's my boyfriend," he said blankly. "And he saved my life. Magnus."

"Oh." His mother blinked and his father looked uncomfortable. "I didn't realize— well, a lot of things, I suppose."

"We haven't been around enough," his father rumbled. "We're working with the company to be sent away less often."

Alec nodded and closed his eyes. He was glad, at least, that there was no room for family/boyfriend drama in the hospital. He wasn't sure why he hadn't told them before, actually.

His mother kissed his cheek. "We're going to go check on Max, all right?" she said. "We'll come back to see you in the morning."

"Yeah, okay," Alec agreed. "Love you."

"Love you too," his mother said, and they left.

xxx

Magnus got to go back to school three days before Alec managed to get out of bed. He was gleeful when he came over to Alec's house, where Alec had spent all day playing video games.

"Guess what," he said as he grabbed a controller.

"What?"

"One, I didn't miss so much school that I have to repeat a year, so I will indeed be going to college, but that's not the important part."

Alec thought that was actually very important, but nodded for Magnus to go on.

"Jonathan Valentine got into a car crash," Magnus cackled. "I mean, he only broke, like, a finger, but it serves him _so right_." Alec shook his head while Magnus gloated for a bit longer.

"Anyways," Magnus finally moved on, "are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I should be back on Monday," Alec grinned. "I hope _I_ haven't missed too much to pass this year."

"You'll be fine. You're parents seem slightly happier. Your mom actually offered me a cookie when I came in."

"And you didn't take it?" Alec demanded. "You could have brought me one!"

"Of course I did, I ate it on the stairs," Magnus objected. "And you need to eat healthy, keep up your strength, all that."

Alec rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I love you."

"_Yeah _I am!" Magnus crowed. He leaned over and kissed Alec firmly. "And you're lucky that I grabbed another cookie and put it in my pocket for you." He held it out like a trophy, grinning.

Alec snatched it up, laughing. He picked a piece of lint off of it before stuffing it into his mouth. "You really are the best," he said.

"I know."

"Alec!" Max yelled from his room across the hall. "You told me you would play video games with me! I've been waiting _all day_!"

_A/N: OH MY GOD YOU GUYS! It's like, basically done! I cannot believe it. I have been working on this story for such a ridiculously long time. Thank you for your support, your reviews, alerts, and favorites. It has gotten an insane amount of attention, and I never expected so many people to like it. I'm astounded by all the love you have shown for this and I literally could not have finished without all the encouragement you gave me. I really hope you enjoyed this, and thank you for sticking with me! _

_Review for an epilogue!_

_LOVE_

_K_


	32. Epilogue

Epilogue

_A/N: Guys! I can't believe this is really it. Thank you for sticking with this! Here is the promised epilogue :) Enjoy! _

**_Eight years later_**

"Magnus?"

"In here!" Alec dropped his keys on the table and made his way to the still-unpainted back room of the tiny house. Well, it _had _been unpainted.

"I'm thinking of doing the trim in gold," Magnus announced, hands smearing purple paint on his jeans.

"That seems… excessive?" Alec looked around at the silver swirls on the walls and blinked.

"Well, yes, but it'll be _my _office, after all." Magnus objected. He turned and flashed a grin at Alec. "Was practice good?"

"Yeah, it was great, I swam four miles."

"I can't even comprehend that, but you look fantastic."

"Thanks."

"Think they'll make you assistant coach?"

Alec laughed. "It's a little early to be worrying about that. I don't need to retire from competing just yet." He looked around. "Are you really going to be able to concentrate in here with all the _glitter_?"

"Alexander, darling, glitter can only help. Besides, the animation studio _loves _me, they don't mind letting me work from home once in a while and I like my space to be inspired."

"You sound like a snotty grad student."

"I love you, too."

"Fine, fine!" Alec laughed. "Do you want me to make dinner?" He turned for the door.

Magnus snuck up behind him and put his arms around him. "Do you know how hot it is to have a fiancé who can cook?" he asked, kissing Alec's cheek.

"Hot enough to help the fiancé cook?" Alec guessed hopefully.

"Almost as hot as having a fiancé who's a professional athlete," Magnus corrected. "But I would get paint in the food."

"It was worth a try," Alec sighed. "Also, are you going to forget my name entirely and just refer to me as your fiancé forever? Because you've been doing that a lot."

"And I will continue doing so until I can call you my husband," Magnus replied. "Speaking of, we should probably announce that to parents and things. Ragnor keeps bugging me about a party."

Alec groaned. "Can't we just elope or something? I don't _want _a party, you know I hate that."

"Alexander!" Magnus gasped, releasing Alec. "You cannot deny your friends and family the opportunity to celebrate with you, and you certainly can't deny _me _the opportunity to show you off and organize something all at once. I'm insulted."

"Yeah, but Jace is still in Greece, and Izzy's always working on a case—"

"Jace will drag himself away from his thrill seeking and Izzy can drag herself away from the detective agency long enough to attend your _engagement party._" Magnus rolled his eyes. "It'll be fun. I can wear that blue shirt you like and you can wear all black like always, and there will be tons of food."

"Magnus."

Magnus kissed him. "Darling," he muttered against Alec's mouth, "this is not up for discussion."

Alec frowned. "Really? Because I think we could—"

Magnus cut him off again, kissing him in a way that he certainly never would in public. Once he had Alec knotting his fingers in Magnus's hair, Magnus pulled back. "You said something about dinner?" he asked, eyes sparkling.

"Oh my god, you are the _worst_," Alec groaned, and dragged Magnus back in for another kiss.

"So was that a yes to the party?" Magnus grinned against Alec's mouth.

"I'm going to complain to my therapist about you," Alec retorted, and shut Magnus up more effectively a minute later.

_A/N:Thank you guys so much for all the love and support you've shown for this story. It grew out of my crazy teenager mind and while I cringe whenever I read the beginning of this story now, I'm so, so glad that I went for it anyways. Endless thanks to my friends who pushed me so hard to finish (and start) this story. And thank you to everyone who took the time to read this, (especially to the international readers, because seriously, who in Croatia or Slovenia is reading this story? Really?). I hope you had fun with this one. It has been an honor, my darlings._

Hey! If you like my writing, check out my **blog** at thebisexualcousin . blogspot . com

_LOVE_

_K_


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